The Leverage Games
by Zee-Zee Magee
Summary: What would happen if Leverage and the Hunger Games merged? Well read and find out. An AU to both fandoms that merge all of the characters in one way or another.
1. Reaping Day

**A/N:** _Ooh, a new project. Nope, I am not ditching my other stories. In fact, this is why they are taking so long. First I had to move The Hunger Games up to the top of my reading list because I discovered that the movie came out March 23rd. Then I had to find them and now I'm making my siblings read them so we can all watch the movie when it comes out on DVD. Naturally my writer brain said, ooh Leverage merged with Hunger Games into epic story time. **Me:** What about the other two stories I owe people? **Writer Brain:** Why not both? **Me:** Because I have school reading assignments and two stories already in the work count as both. **Writer Brain:** We'll write this anyway to give you a break from killing Eliot and Sophie because that is just depressing.** Me: **That's just cheating. **Writer Brain:** I don't fight fair. It's your trait not mine. So, here is the result of that. Just to put this out there; THERE WILL BE NO PRIM IN HERE! That's right, the character taking over for Prim will not suffer her fate. That is all._

_Nope, still don't own Leverage or its characters. *sigh*  
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Nate awoke with the sun blaring in his eyes. He groaned at the angry orange glow and proceeded to roll over in hopes of stopping it. He was unsuccessful when he turned a fraction to his left and noticed blonde wisps poking into his eye. The eighteen year old flinched at this and slowly moved to sit up and take in his surroundings. He was still in his room and the blinds to his window were wide open. He knew he had closed them the night before. The young man turned back to observe his bed now that he was awake. Sure enough, Parker was laying there with Bunny held protectively tight in her tiny arms.

Nate sighed at the angelic child lying beside him. _She must have gotten scared last night_, Nate thought. Today was the day of the reaping, the day when two members of every district would leave their homes. Only one of the twenty-four contestants would return when the Hunger Games were finished. The Capitol expected every member of the twelve districts to attend the reaping as if it were an important event. The districts were required to look their absolute best for the event. That way the ones chosen for slaughter would be camera ready.

Slaughter because that's what the Hunger Games were. Each year since the end of the war when district thirteen was destroyed, the twelve districts that had revolted against the Capitol were forced to send in two children to fight in battle to the death. It was a hideous sport that had been going on for over seventy years. Today's reaping marked the beginning of the seventy-fourth annual Hunger Games. That meant there had been seventy-four years of merciless slaughter of children between the ages of twelve and eighteen battling to the death. Yippee!

Parker cuddled closer to Nate's side with a frown on her face. The eleven year old girl scrunched up her face and forced her eyes to stay shut. She was trying her best not to wake up. She was doing what she always did on Reaping Day. She was trying to pretend that it wasn't there. Nate sighed at the sad little fact and tried to think back on the days when the blonde Seam girl tried to kill him.

It wasn't exactly her fault. Nate had been hunting as a way to keep his father and sister fed. He also made a lot of money and good trade from the pelts and extra game. He was just scoping out the game trails when he stumbled upon a rabbit hanging by its neck from a tree. The then thirteen year old boy moved towards the rabbit in interest of the trap he had never seen before. Instead of seeing how the contraption worked he got a spear grazing his cheek. Nate backed away from the rabbit and grabbed his cheek in surprise.

"Stay away from my rabbit!" a tiny voice squeaked out in anger.

Nate's head snapped towards the source of the voice in confusion. He stared at the tiny figure in shock. A six year old girl stood a few feet away from him with her tiny hands on her hips and danger in her eyes. There was no doubt she had been the one to catch the unsuspecting rodent. A string just like the one attached to the rabbits neck was wrapped around her tiny torso two or three times. Her scrawny frame and bulging clothes were a sign that she wouldn't let her food go. She was starving and dangerous, a bad combo for the current situation.

Nate coughed to clear his throat. "I'm sorry," he said, "I was only trying to get a look at the string to see how you got yours to work. Every time I set a trap, the line breaks."

"You're lying," the girl narrowed her eyes and moved her hand closer to her knife. Nate blinked at the fact that he hadn't noticed it before. "You're trying to steal my rabbit! Well, I caught it fair and square so don't you even think about touching it or I'll gut you like a fish!"

Nate lifted up his hunting belt and bow to show he was no threat. He had caught seven rabbits, two pheasants and a turkey that day. "Look!" He shook the belt to get her attention. "I don't need the rabbit! I caught all of this while I was hunting today. I really was just trying to see how you got your trap to work, honest."

"You don't want my rabbit?' the girl asked in confusion. She was still looking for some tell that he was lying to her. She had major trust issues.

"I don't want your rabbit," Nate confirmed with a nod. He wanted out of the situation as soon as possible. He didn't need the peace keepers on his back about getting beat by a girl. He also didn't want to die.

"Then get out of here," the girl growled. She refused to take her hand off her knife. She was definitely crazy. "Before I decide you're lying."

"Alright," Nate bowed at her kind offer. Unlike his father, he knew how to end a fight before it ever began. The boy slowly backed up and started heading back to the electric fence that was never working. He paused after taking a couple of steps though. He stared down at his belt and then back at the little girl who was now somehow on the tree taking the rabbit down. He looked at his belt and the big turkey hanging from it. It was a worthy sacrifice to the cause. The boy removed the turkey from his belt and threw it towards the girl. She stared at the turkey at her feet in astonishment. Her head warily snapped towards him, her mouth agape.

"Keep it," he said, "I can always catch another one tomorrow." He turned around and started walking.

"My name is Parker," the tiny voice called out.

Nate smiled at the memory. He watched as the rabbit he had skinned and stuffed for her squeezed itself into her chest and puffed out again. His tiny, grey button eyes wobbled a bit at the abusive pressure before settling back on his head. It was only a matter of time now.

Green-grey eyes popped open and immediately looked around to identify their surroundings. They landed on Nate and a small smile began to grow on the blonde's face. Parker was officially awake.

"Happy Reaping Day, Nate," Parker croaked as she pulled her tiny little body to sit next to him.

Nate bumped his elbow against hers before he finally answered, "Happy Reaping Day, Parker."

"Today's your last day," Parker informed him simply. Her tone was abrupt and brutal but it was the truth she spoke. Today was indeed his last Reaping day. That was what she meant, but the thought that it could be his last day at home period was just as startling. After all, a child of a champion was always selected for the Reaping.

Nate frowned at the thought. It had been four years ago to the day when his sister had proven that theory correct before the members of district twelve. Adrianne had done her best to come home that year too, but she was killed the first night of the games. Her ally had betrayed her to join the Careers. Her tiny body was shipped home to his father and him with nothing more than a few words of comfort and praise for her sacrifice. Jimmy polished off what was left of his champion winnings that very night while Nate was forced to find comfort somewhere else. Parker had found him at their spot and refused to leave when he told her to. She was his official best friend from that moment on and there had never been a day they were separated since. After all, it was Adrianne who thought up the idea that they worked better hunting together instead of separately.

Nate thought about reminding Parker how much of a friend she was to him. Hell, the girl was practically his little sister now. He had the scars of defending her against bullies to prove it. He might as well tell her just in case he was selected.

"Then let's make it a good last day," he said instead.

Parker grinned her feral grin and immediately hopped out of bed. She cast aside her clothes without a care in the world that he was in the room with her. Nate just rolled his eyes and kindly turned away from the Seam girl. Sure she was like a little sister but there were some parts of her he just didn't want to see.

"I'm done, Mr. Shy, let's go!" Parker growled at him. Nate smiled at the address and turned around with wide eyes. She was wearing a dress. Parker was wearing a dress. Parker never wore a dress. Nate stared in awe of this odd phenomenon. He just couldn't believe his little buddy was wearing a dress.

"What?" Parker frowned in concern of her outfit, "Did I put it on backwards again?"

"No," Nate shook his head at the question, "You just don't usually wear a dress ever, let alone on Reaping day."

"It's Adrianne's," Parker defended smoothly. Well, Parker was never exactly smooth. She was more of a tomboy really. She was the bluntest of the blunt and the boyish member of her whole class. In fact, Nate was one of the only boys in their school that could actually beat Parker at all of the games. He and Paul Fathers were it if truth be told. "I thought I should wear it in her honor."

Bam! Nate felt his heart squeeze at the girl's thought. Adrianne had been kind enough to tell Nate exactly what would happen to Parker during their last day together. She explained that Parker would be his responsibility and it was up to him to keep her in line. She then had the decency to cry and say that Parker was to have all of hers and their mother's clothes. It was the only proof they would have that Parker was their sister. Nate made certain that wish was carried out. He rescued their clothes from his father's drunken clutches and stuffed them in their secret cabin.

"You're not hunting in a dress," Nate crossed his arms defiantly. He recognized the dress right off the bat. It was his mother's first Reaping dress. Adrianne wore it the day of her first Reaping as well. The blue dress had faded since then though and the yellow flowers embroidered around the waist were now officially lime green. It still looked remarkable on the newest wearer. Parker's golden locks even helped the faded colors to pop out the yellow more and make it look as if it were brand new. It was nice to see the dress worn again.

Parker rolled her eyes at his statement. "Of course I'm not wearing a dress to go hunting," she said, "I'm wearing it for our picnic."

"Picnic?"

"Yes, picnic. You and I are going on a Reaping Day picnic with goat cheese, leftover roasted turkey, and biscuits. I did all of the trading last night. Now, hurry up and get changed so we can go."

Nate couldn't help but smile at the insistent wave she gave him to indicate that he needed to change. He kindly took the outfit she had selected from the apparent thin air and placed it on his bed. He then pointed to the door. "You wait outside, Parker. I'll be there in a minute."

"It's just skin," Parker grumbled as she started to leave through the door, "It's not like you have anything different from me."

"It's exactly like that, Parker," Nate called after her as he started to replace his night shirt with his dress shirt. The blonde just stuck out her tongue and closed the door. Nate laughed at the gesture and hurriedly put on the rest of his clothes. Parker had a tendency to get impatient after only a minute of waiting. The hurried pace seemed to be a good call too. She opened the door just as he zipped his fly and she proceeded to thump towards the window with a basket in hand. She didn't act like she had done anything wrong, typical Parker.

"Let's go," she said.

Nate rolled his eyes and did as instructed. It was probably last day they would ever eat together anyway. He might as well enjoy it. The only blessing about this day was that Parker was still too young to be selected in the reaping. He only had to worry about his own life again.

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Breakfast happened too quickly for their liking. Silence of what could happen and the fear that it would had them chomping away at their food with very little conversation. They just sat by the lake and ate. It was all they could do to ignore the little cloud hovering over them. Today was probably their last day together. It was too depressing. The district twelve kids decided they had enough with that. They went to the town square early instead.

McRory's square was already bustling with people when they arrived. Children twelve through eighteen were already lining up in their designated spots in hopes of getting it over with sooner. They were wrong of course but it was something to do while waiting for the Reaping to begin.

Nate and Parker stopped right where the rope separating parents from their children was. It was time to split.

"Bunny says good luck," Parker explained sharply. She quickly gave him a tight squeeze and raced away. Nate watched after her until he found the familiar top hat in the sea of people. A hand shot up and Nate knew Parker had found Jimmy. It was time for him to find Paul.

Nate found Paul exactly where he expected to. Paul was standing as close to the middle of the square as possible. The guy was the only child in his family but unlike Nate, he was poor. Being poor in district twelve meant signing up for Tesserae. It was the Capitol's way of fixing the odds a bit. From the moment you turn twelve to the moment you are no longer eighteen, you can sign yourself up to receive enough Tesserae for every member of your family. For each time and person you register for Tesserae your name is entered once more when twelve, twice more when thirteen and so on and so forth doubling every year. Paul officially had his name entered the most out of every single boy in district twelve. His name was in the bowl thirty-six times just this year the odds were completely stacked against him and then some.

"Paul," Nate shook his friend's hand with a grim line of a smile.

"I see Parker has decided to wear a dress for the occasion," Paul commented with a sad smile of his own.

"Well it is my last Reaping you know."

"Let us pray that it ends in our favor today."

Nate actually laughed at the comment. Paul was practicing to be a priest for the district. The Hunger Games were the only thing really keeping him from going too in depth in his studies. Once the Reaping was over, he would be able to actually read the old texts if he was selected. The few priests in the town were touchy about tributes learning religion when they had to defy it by killing.

"At least the odds are in my favor," Nate joked just to alleviate the stress. More people were gathering in the square now which meant it was about to start.

"Oh please," Paul chuckled back as he tried to ignore the pitying looks shot his way, "I'm not the son of one of the only two champions for our district."

"Jimmy doesn't really count as a mentor until next year, Paul," Nate explained as Effie Trinket began to appear on stage. She was the district's guide. This year her hair color was lilac instead of pink. It was an interesting look for her. "You know the rules; champions cannot mentor their own children."

"It's still going to be you this year," Paul joked weakly. His amusement at their banter was dying fast as the deadline slowly approached. He couldn't even smile anymore.

"Hello and welcome to the Reaping," Effie Trinket's melodic Capitol accent rang throughout the square.

"Let us begin with how much of a jackass President Snow is," Nate filled in just to get his friend's nerves down.

"Because we haven't heard this story our whole lives," Paul finished with a grateful roll of his eyes. They were both sick of the Reaping. They even made a pact to never have kids if they made it out alive. Their fingers were crossed that they would.

"Girls first," Effie trinket announced way too soon for comfort. She carefully reached her hand into the giant fish bowl filled with names and pulled out a slip. She carefully pranced towards the center of the stage and smiled into the microphone. She unfolded the paper and read, "Margaret Collins."

"Maggie," Paul groaned as the sixteen year old girl slowly made her way to the stage. Margaret or Maggie as everybody called her was the baker's daughter and the absolute nicest person in the district. She went out of her way to help feed the hungry mouths of the Seam children anyway she could. The only reason Nate even knew about her was because the girl had allowed Parker to steal a loaf of bread without even batting an eye. The entire district would be upset if she died.

"And now for the boys," Effie commented unnecessarily as she moved towards the other fish bowl. Her hand snatched up a paper and pulled it out. She moved to the microphone and calmly read out the name of the male tribute for the district.

"Nathan Ford."

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**A/N II:** _P.S. I'm doing a fusion of the whole trilogy. That is the plan._


	2. Train Ride

**A/N:** _For those wondering, I'm going to do three of these long fics each inserting/melding the leverage characters into the hunger games trilogy. So, just because somebody doesn't appear in this one or isn't in here all the time does not mean they won't show up in the sequel. Oh, and I know that the tributes who win are called victors but when I began writing this I couldn't remember victors so I called them champions and then I remembered they were called victors and went to change it but sort of fell in love with the word champions so I decided to keep it. Consider it a Leverage change to it but yeah. I am aware of the actual title and I am sorry if it frustrates you. This is what happens when your brain decides it would like to recreate the Hunger Games by inserting the Leverage characters. Oh! Though there will be no Prim situation in this series there will be a Rue. And that is your hint._

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Nate felt his lungs stop as his name was called. The eyes of every person in the square fell on him with looks of shock and awe. He was going into the arena.

"No!" Parker screamed out at the top of her lungs. She tried to break through the rope but Jimmy was holding her back. She was scratching and clawing her way towards her friend, but Jimmy was just strong enough to keep a hold of her. "No, Nate! Somebody volunteer! Please, somebody volunteer! Nate, don't go!"

"Hush, Parker," Nate ordered gently. A great calm was settling over him now. He knew nobody would volunteer to replace him. It was the curse of being the son of a champion. He was going into that arena. The young boy ignored the peace keepers trying to get the little Seam girl from breaking through the rope barrier. He held his head high and started to walk towards the stage. A gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him though.

"Nate…" Paul began to speak with a quick look in Parker and Jimmy's direction.

"Don't you dare," Nate ordered briskly. He knew exactly what was on his friend's mind and he wasn't going to allow it. "Paul, under no circumstances are you going to volunteer for me. Your family needs you more. You're going to look after Parker now."

The soon to be priest immediately nodded his head in defeat. He bowed his head and said no more. He would not be the one to defy him. It was part of how their friendship worked.

Nate walked forward with a new confidence in his stride. He sent daggers towards anyone who dared to pity him and continued to the stage. Effie Trinket kindly came to collect him and present him to the rest of the district.

"Here are your tributes," she raised both of their hands in emphasis, "Nathan Ford and Margaret Collins."

The applause was nonexistent as always. Nobody cheered and tiny sniffles of pain were heard throughout. Nobody was happy with this year's Reaping results, but the children wouldn't volunteer to be slaughtered. Nate put a stop to that when he told Paul no. Now he was going to have to kill the baker's girl in order to make it home. Let the games begin.

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Nate obediently sat in the tribute room without hesitation. In a moment the peace keepers were going to allow his father to visit him. He hoped Parker would be allowed to because she needed to understand his plan. He needed to explain everything to Jimmy and Parker and it wouldn't work if they both weren't together. He had a plan and he needed them to stick to it.

Sure enough, the door swung open and a tiny blonde blur zoomed towards him in an instant. Nate braced himself as Parker slammed her whole body into him. She wasn't going to make this easy.

"You should have let him volunteer," Jimmy declared calmly. He entered immediately after Parker but he was keeping his distance. He could tell his son needed the space apparently. It was one of the first decent fatherly things he'd ever done.

"You and I both know Paul's family needs him alive more," Nate sneered towards his father in disgust. It was probably the years of drunken abuse that made him despise his father so. It was a shame they had never worked out their problems like real men.

"You have to win!" Parker ordered with her green-grey eyes staring up at him with hope. "I don't care if Maggie saved me during my first winter alone, you have to win!"

"I will," Nate nodded at his friend's order.

"Promise?" Parker ordered stubbornly. She pulled away from him and held out her hand for the shake. Her left hand was rolled onto her hip and her right hand was ready for battle. There was no going back now.

"Promise," Nate slid his right hand into hers and refused to lighten his grip. Parker needed to be reminded of the power he still contained within. It was going to make the next step of his plan easier.

"Don't promise her something you can't keep, Nathan," Jimmy's voice cracked as he spoke. Nate looked at his father in shock of the emotion. He had only seen his father cry twice in his short life. The first was when his mother was killed by a peace keeper because she wouldn't sleep with him. He was found in a ditch somewhere barely even a week later and nobody bothered to question Jimmy on the odd behavior. The other peace keepers didn't even call it a murder. Everyone in town knew who was responsible for it though. Jimmy also cried the day Adrianne came home in a little wooden box after her games ended far too soon.

It was in between their deaths that Jimmy picked up the bottle. He began drinking one bottle a day but that quickly increased to five bottles a night. He even began gambling his winnings away out of pure boredom. The hitting didn't start until after Adrianne's death though. Jimmy's heart refused to deal with the pain anymore. That was the major reason Nate hated his father so much. Jimmy was too much of a coward to ever let himself move on from his past. Now it seemed his past wasn't quite ready to let go of him either.

"Listen to me, Dad," Nate paused at the fact he actually called Jimmy dad. He hadn't done that since his mother died. "You have to stop drinking." Jimmy opened his mouth to argue so Nate raised his hand to stop him. "I don't care what you think but I need you to look after Parker!"

"I can look after myself," Parker scowled at the idea of it. The tears rolling down her cheeks though seemed to prove the opposite.

"Not anymore, Parker," Nate knelt before her with begging eyes. He knew his last wish had to be heard before they were separated forever. "Jimmy's your family now."

Parker cried harder at the news, "But you don't even call him family. You're the only family I have, Nate. You can't leave me alone."

"I'm not leaving you," Nate gently cradled her little face in his right hand. "I'll be back and I'll have lots of money to spend on you, okay? Jimmy's just going to take care of you while I'm gone. You're my little buddy, Parker. I would never leave you."

"Don't go for the cornucopia," Jimmy ordered before Parker could even think of speaking. The old man carefully stepped forward and placed a shaky hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't reveal your hunting skills until you get in that arena and don't you dare ignore any of the stations except the weapons. Haymitch will advise you likewise. Listen to him. He knows what he's doing."

"You'll take care of her?" Nate demanded immediately. He squeezed Parker against him to make their last moments together last.

"Yes," Jimmy agreed with both eyes trained on the tiny girl. "I'll take care of her. You just win this and come home."

"Bye, Dad," Nate forced the prickling feeling in his eyes away at his father's statement. He turned toward Parker just as the peace keepers started to enter. "You stay safe."

"Always," Parker promised. The blonde quickly pecked him on the cheek and hurried away before anything else could be said. Nate watched as the peace keepers forced his father away. He had to come back for them. He would do what his father said.

"You have another visitor," the redheaded peace keeper, Cora, explained.

Nate furrowed his brow in confusion of that one. He didn't expect anybody except Parker and Jimmy. He didn't have anyone else. Who could possibly be visiting him?

"I came to give you a gift," Paul explained with both arms raised in surrender. He was carrying something in his hands. Nate tried to give his friend the benefit of the doubt but he was curious. He was always curious. "It's a mockingjay pin. My mother gave it to me on my first Reaping Day. She told me it would bring me good luck and fortune. It seems she was right. I was wearing this pin when I met you and I have worn it to every Reaping day since."

Nate stared at his friend in awe. He knew what was coming next. This wasn't good. "Paul…"

"I want you to have it, Nate," Paul pinned it to his chest without permission. "It will bring you back to Parker. I won't need it anymore. Last Reaping Day, remember?"

"I'll give it back when I'm done," Nate promised immediately.

"No," Paul shook his head at the thought, "Don't promise me that. Promise me that you'll come back alive."

"I promised Parker," Nate smiled at his friend's thoughts, "You know what that means."

"You have to come back now," Paul chuckled sadly at the truth. "She'll kill you if you don't."

The two friends shared a laugh over the very idea of what the little Seam girl would do. They shook hands and bowed towards each other in respect. Paul was gone before the peace keepers even came.

"It's time to catch the train," Effie informed him from a section of the room he didn't even know was there. He wasn't exactly familiar with the train station. He had only seen it when Adrianne was chosen to compete and die for the games. There was nothing left to do. It was time to start the process.

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Nate and Maggie were both ushered into a small dining car moments after the train took off. There they saw a man they had never expected to see. He was the only other champion in District Twelve, Haymitch Abernathy.

"Nate," Haymitch grinned at the son of his fellow champion before taking a few swigs from his alcoholic mug. "How's it going?"

"I'm competing in the games," Nate responded back with a glare. He was a little too used to Haymitch's awful tone. They had been names for longer than Nate could remember. In fact, it was because of Haymitch's stories about the games that Nate decided he would never have children. What was the point when they were going to end up slaughtered for entertainment anyway? At least this increased his chances of not having to deal with that. Apparently there was a bright side to the games after all.

"Good luck," Haymitch sneered towards him. The champion took another smug swig of his drink and then promptly passed out. He was done for the evening at least.

"I'm going to go watch a recap of the Reaping," Nate declared with a roll of his eyes.

"Shouldn't we help him?" Maggie questioned in confusion. She wasn't exactly used to Haymitch's drunkenness. Nate on the other hand was intimately aware. He grew up watching Haymitch and his father have drinking parties. He wasn't in the mood to clean up his mess. He was going to do what he usually did. He was going to ignore the problem.

"No, he's always like that. He'll wake up soon and demand food. It's just his way.

Nate knew Maggie decide he was right the moment she started walking behind him. He also knew she was determined to get to know him before the games. If they became allies he wouldn't have to kill her. Somebody else would do it for him and he wouldn't have to feel guilty for it. It seemed like a good strategy really.

"I guess this means we're allies then?" Nate decided to be blunt with his strategy. He figured it would be easier to digest.

"At least I know I can trust you," Maggie nodded enthusiastically at the suggestion. They shook on it and sat down in front of the television screen. The recap was about to begin.

Sure enough, the Capitol crest began to appear and Nate glared at the television screen. He always hated the way they glorified this section with the highest honor that children would be up for slaughter like cattle. It was disgusting, but knowing the enemy was always an advantage. So, Nate stared at the screen with calculating eyes. District one was, like always, up first.

"Sophie Devereaux," the name was announced and silence was coming from the screen. A girl about his age walked towards the platform in a graceful stride. She had luscious curls of dark tresses and a figure that hinted at the perfect curves. The hair wasn't exactly unheard of for district one and neither was the way she carried herself as if she was more important than everyone else. What was odd was the fact that nobody volunteered to replace her.

"They're all staying quiet," Maggie commented in disappointment. She was just as intrigued as he was. Nobody in District One was ever actually chosen for the games. This would be interesting.

Her fellow tribute actually volunteered. His name was James Sterling and he was built for the games. Nate took special note of the male tribute from District Four named Marcus Starke because he looked like he would also be a threat to his survival. Maggie had pointed out that the boy from district eleven by the name of Thresh would be a useful ally if they could get him. Nate knew simply by the way the boy moved that that wouldn't be the case. The two took some time to strategize further before they exited to their rooms. Soon, the real work would begin.


	3. Helpful Competition

**A/N:** _I feel the last chapter was too short so to make up for it this is extra-long and I'm going to give you two chapters. Hee-hee! See, I'm awesome! So, I think I might have this wrong but I am an idiot who took her books home and then decided to write a fanfiction thing when she got back to school so I apologize if this is out of order but this makes sense to me._

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Nate woke up the very next morning to find that it wasn't a dream. He was indeed on his way to the Capitol to battle in the Hunger Games. The District Twelve boy groaned in annoyance and hopped out of bed. There was only one goal in mind before he would meet his stylist. He was going to work on his strategy. Haymitch Abernathy would lead him to victory.

Nate carefully opened his bedroom door and started down the hall. He was carefully walking to the dining room when he ran into somebody he wasn't expecting.

"Oops, sorry," Nate apologized to the boy that was about his age.

The boy didn't notice him at all. He just kept up with folding linens and placing them on a cart. The boy didn't even look like a boy now that Nate took good notice of him. He was a little older than Nate and had a beard growing along his chin. He was of an overly plump nature and had light brown hair. His eyes were a soft blue-grey and somewhat reminded him of Parker. The worst part was that Nate was certain he recognized the guy from somewhere. That was impossible though. Where would he recognize the kid from?

"I recognize you," Nate decided to be blunt with his thinking. It was an uncomfortable habit of his. It was something he had done all the way back when his mother was still alive. It usually occurred around the time he or Adrianne would have a birthday.

His mother would get this odd glint in her eye and Nate would know something was up. He would watch her movements carefully and then demand to know what she was up to. She would smile at him and say nothing. He would just shrug and remind her of her actions then demand to know what was purchased. His mother had once told him it was a trait he inherited from his father. Back then, Nate actually smiled at the fact that he had that trait. Now it was just a reminder of just how close he and his father were becoming. He hoped he wouldn't find the same lust for alcohol to deal with his troubles.

Nate pointed towards the avox again and paused at the confused face. There was something fake about the confusion. It seemed forced and frightened. Nate stared at the face and felt the familiarity increase. He definitely knew that frightened face.

"I swear I know you from somewhere."

"That's impossible," the musical voice of Effie Trinket laughed at the boy's thoughts. She was walking towards him in a hurried fashion and stumbled a bit on her high heeled shoes. She caught up to him from her room and gently placed her left hand on his elbow. She began leading him away and Nate could hear the boy sigh in relief. Nate opened his mouth to question the guide.

"He's an avox, dear," Effie laughed at his thoughts and waved off his question. She looped her arm in his and led him towards the dining car. "Avoxes are criminals turned into mutes. How on Earth could you possibly know him?"

"He just looks familiar," Nate shrugged. He realized he wasn't supposed to know the boy at all. Avoxes were criminals from the districts. You only got to know them if you had broken a law yourself. Effie didn't need to know Nate was a well-known hunter in his district. The boy was now most certain he met the avox boy in the woods under awful conditions. In fact, he had a feeling he even knew the older boy's name and it was not good. If he was right, the boy had been arrested for traveling between the districts. Well, that was the story everybody at home was told.

"Besides, dear," Effie interrupted his thinking before the memory even had a chance to brew, "You're not supposed to talk to an avox. There's really no point considering they can't talk back anyway. You just need to know that an avox is there to take your order. They are not there for conversation. They are there to serve you. Be certain to remember that the only thing he should hear is an order or command and that is all."

"So we have to treat them like they're not even there?" Nate was confused. Avoxes may be considered criminals but they were still human. Even animals were allowed to listen to the sound of somebody's voice for more than an order. This seemed a bit too strict even by Capitol standards.

"They're criminals, dear," Effie rolled her eyes at the boy. They had finally arrived at their destination and the poor woman looked relieved. Nate could definitely agree with that feeling. "They lost the right to be human when they tried to lead another revolution against the Capitol. Besides, let's not think about such dull and drab things. Let's eat. I'm starving and you've got to at least look presentable when your stylists get here. Tick tock!"

Effie went to sit down at the table. Nate just stared after her. Was that woman even real? Sure she wore a vibrant pink wig and atrocious clothes, but she didn't even appear to have a heart. How could you cut off all association to someone just because they were called a criminal? Why couldn't an avox talk and why was it wrong to talk to one? The District Twelve boy just sighed in frustration at another crime the Capitol seemed to commit on a regular basis. He would find out more when it was safe to do so.

"Good morning," Haymitch growled on his drunken way towards food. His breath reeked of spirits and he stumbled past his neighbor in a sort of haze. Maggie grouchily followed behind the man with a sour look on her face. Right, it was time to get their mentor to actually help them.

"He smells like old yeast," Maggie complained. She wrinkled her nose in disgust and followed Haymitch to the breakfast table at a distance. Her need for food seemed to be in battle with her distaste at the old man's fumes.

"I'll take care of it," Nate promised. He sort of felt obligated to do so. Maggie was a sweet person. She didn't deserve to deal with this until the arena. He could protect her from the world until then. Then, they would have to worry about themselves. They were allies until it was no longer convenient. Nate just prayed they weren't the final two for what felt like the sixteenth time they began.

"Eat!" Effie ordered. She seemed frazzled by their lack of following a schedule. It appeared as if she had never been forced to deal with people not on a schedule before.

Nate nodded his head and quickly piled some food on a plate. He picked up a butter knife with every intention of putting some of the yellow stuff on his bread. Then he got an idea. He immediately winked at Maggie and threw the knife. It landed exactly where he wanted it to, right where Haymitch's hand was reaching for his drink. Effie screamed and stood to her feet. Maggie didn't scream but she did rise at the display. Nate smiled and acted like nothing was wrong. He just went back to eating as if that sort of thing happened all the time.

"Something you want to say, Ford?" Haymitch's voice sounded interested. He was trying not to but Nate could tell. His neighbor had always been an easy read after all.

Nate turned a careless gaze towards the mentor and shrugged. He picked up a roll and calmly bit into it. He then stared straight into the mentor's eyes in challenge. "You're going to mentor us." Nate tilted his head towards Maggie and pointed to himself. "You're going to help us win!"

Haymitch smiled at that. His shoulders even shook with laughter at the idea. He clearly wasn't sure what to do with this situation. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," Nate nodded his head and smiled at Maggie. "It would probably be easier if you sobered up but we need you focused. So, here are the rules."

"Rules?"

"Rules!" That voice was Maggie's and she looked just as determined as Nate felt. He smiled at her spunk. She was definitely going to be his ally for as long as possible. She even had that manic glint in her eye that Parker wore when they were about to go hunting.

Haymitch actually startled at Maggie's voice. He even looked a little afraid of her. Nate tried to be jealous of that, but he was just amused. The town drunk, and bearer of bad news, was afraid of the baker's daughter. That was priceless.

"Rule one," Nate decided to steal back the attention. Maggie and Haymitch both kindly looked to him in interest. "Less drinking and no more face vaulting off the stage. We need you to make us look good and you being an idiot; doesn't help."

"Rule two: is that you have to actually advise us so we'll win." Maggie said this with a straight face. She was now glaring daggers into their mentor's eyes and looked certain of her thoughts. "You will do everything in your power to make certain one of us gets home."

"And you will not choose between us," Nate added. He remembered the last time Haymitch actually tried to help. The boy tribute that fought with Adrianne died because the older man chose her over him. District Twelve actually would have had a shot if he had taken care of them both.

"Rule three!" This time Haymitch actually spoke and kept his eyes trained on them. He actually looked sober now. He looked like he was going to play to win this time. "You do what I tell you to, exactly as I say unless otherwise advised. Understand?"

"Agreed." Maggie and Nate said it at the exact same time and smiled at each other. District Twelve was going to win. That was all that mattered.

"Agreed," Haymitch nodded towards them. He wore a smug grin and wrenched the knife out of the table. He handed it to Effie and started towards the door. He spun back around and pointed his finger at each of his charges. "I want you both to finish this meal soon and get ready for your stylists. You don't argue with them and you don't say anything rude towards them. I want you both to be as nice as possible to them and even smile. I know how difficult that is for you, Ford, but do it anyway. Don't argue with your stylists. They're here to help you. What they say goes, understand?"

Maggie and Nate nodded. They understood the rules. They would do as told. Haymitch grinned a bit smugly at their response. He waved to a still stunned Effie Trinket and left. The door closed behind him and Nate and Maggie stared at each other.

"Let's eat," Maggie declared. Nate didn't argue with the command.

%

After breakfast Nate immediately took a shower and brushed his teeth. He carefully looked through the drawers in his room and settled on a simple pair of pants and a blue shirt. He remembered his mother telling him he looked good in blue once.

"It brings out your eyes," she said. Then he smiled brightly at her statement and his favorite color had become blue. She had laughed and tousled his hair in affection. She died three years later and blue became the worst color in the world. In fact, he refused to wear blue unless Adrianne asked and even then it was rare. Parker had to have a temper tantrum once because he refused to wear the color. The only reason he wore it on any given day was because the Seam girl would have a fit until she got her way, and Nate made sure she always got her way.

Nate shook his head at the memory. He quickly looked around for his clothes from yesterday and found them folded gently on his bed. He carefully moved towards the clothing and stared. A glint of gold was on the shirt and the District Twelve boy quickly snatched it up. He had almost forgotten Paul's gift. He hurriedly placed the pin upon his breast and immediately felt like his home was with him. When he made it out of the games like he promised, he was going to thank Paul for his gift. Because of him, he had a piece of home.

The door opened behind him and Nate turned around. The avox Nate recognized from earlier was patiently looking towards the clothes with wide eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. He was an avox and Avoxes were apparently mute.

"I'm just removing my token," Nate explained, suddenly shy. He wasn't sure what he could say to the other boy. He felt like he should at least say something. Effie Trinket may have been under the impression that Avoxes weren't people, but he wasn't. The avox just smiled at his kindness and started towards the clothing. That was when Nate recognized the scar on the left temple of the avox. It was a scar in the shape of a star. Yes, Nate knew exactly who the avox was.

It had been a bright, sunny day. It was a great day for hunting. In fact, that's where the boy from District Twelve met the avox currently serving him. Nate and Parker had only been hunting together for two years. Adrianne had been gone for almost a year. The game had changed course that day. Parker had to actually set up several snares and make more from whatever she could find because they were coming up empty. They had been out almost all day when they met the boy. He was racing through the woods with some girl. Their hands were linked and they were running fast. The girl tripped on something and the boy had stopped to help her up. The hovercraft came out of nowhere.

Parker had seen the flying contraption before the two runners. She was about to scream at them and beg them for cover when Nate slammed his hand against her mouth. The then fifteen year old hurried towards the bushes and did everything in his power to keep the Seam girl quiet. The two runners took note of the hovercraft and raced towards the trees.

The boy took note of Nate and Parker and questioned them for help without saying a word. Nate waved them over and kept careful watch of the ship from above. That was all he could do and they both knew it. The boy took hold of the girl's hand and raced them towards safety as fast as his plump size could carry him. It wasn't enough though.

A great net dropped down on the pair before they were even close to the trees. Parker started biting Nate's hand to get free but he ignored her and the pain. He was trying to think of a way to help them without getting into trouble. The boy just shook his head no and waited to be taken prisoner. The girl floundered against the net and tried to crawl towards him. The boy turned towards her, revealing his star shaped scar and spoke.

"Peggy, I love you," he said.

The girl cried at the saying and stopped her struggling. They were on the way towards the air when she finally spoke his name. Then the hovercraft and its prisoners were gone.

Nate caught the avox by the arm and pulled him up. He touched the scar for a moment then he looked the avox straight in the eyes.

"Hurley right?"

The avox nodded.

"What happened to Peggy?"

Hurley's face grew pained and Nate knew. He knew even before the older boy motioned the explanation. Hurley shakily drew a finger across his neck and sniffled in sadness. Nate bowed his head at the knowledge. He should have helped them. He should have done exactly what Parker had wanted at the very beginning.

"I'm sorry," he said instead. It was all he could say. He failed at doing the right thing when it mattered and it cost this man everything. He deserved to be fighting in the arena.

Hurley placed a gentle hand on the tribute's shoulder and shook his head. He pointed towards Nate's tongue and signed the act of cutting. He pointed to his own mouth and shook his head. Nate understood exactly what the avox was telling him.

"They cut out your tongue?" Nate was appalled. The avox just nodded and started picking up the clothes. He smiled sadly at the tribute and patted him twice on the shoulder.

"I'm going to talk to you every day even if they tell me not to," Nate declared simply. He wasn't sure if there were any cameras around but he didn't care. He wasn't just going to treat Hurley like a pet.

Hurley smiled at the gesture then put his index finger to his lips. He shook his head to get his message across and bowed. Nate grinned as he watched the older boy walk out the door. They were in agreement. Screw the cameras.

%

Nate met his team of costumers and hated them instantly. Their names were Monica, Octavia and Doyle. He hated Doyle the most. The man had black beady eyes and a crooked nose. He had short cropped black hair and his skin was painted lilac. Octavia was fat and a weird lime green. Monica was the most normal out of the bunch and the bitchiest. She had blonde hair and looked plastic from ear to ear. It was disgusting. They cooed and awed over him and invaded his privacy for hours and hours.

The first thing they did was shave what little facial hair Nate had grown. In District Twelve you were considered a man the moment you had a full face of hair. You would keep that hair for a few months and then shave it off when it got in the way. It was a sign of being able to hold your own household. Then you would go work in the coal mines and make just enough to hold you over till the Tesserae was available.

The group then cut his hair to a suitable two inches. They slicked it back with something that smelled putrid and looked like slime. It was green until it touched his hair. It felt awful. Nate couldn't even stand to touch his hair. It felt like he was touching a hard rock covered in wet moss and mud. Even in the Seam your hair didn't get that dirty.

The final act of torture was a lovely form of cutting his nails all the way to the bed. Yeah, they cut his nails and then painted them with clear stuff. Three layers of the clear stuff and some magic sap to hide his scratches and he was all done. They left with smiles and teary eyes at their work. Nate suppressed the growl he wanted to make and smiled.

"Thank you," he said. They smiled even brighter and left with a pep in their step. Nate rolled his eyes and winced at the fact that his hair made it difficult to move his face. He hoped they didn't slick it back during the games. He would die on the first day for certain.

The doorknob clicked and the boy immediately turned to face it. He remembered what Haymitch said and forced a smile. He wasn't going to argue with his stylist. He wanted to win. No, he had to win; for Parker.

Nate blinked when his stylist appeared through the door. She was the normal skin color and had hair a slightly darker shade of yellow than Parker's. Her eyes were green and she wore no smile on her face. She carefully scrutinized the boy before her and plopped into a chair in front of him. She slouched in her seat until she was comfortable then reached out her right hand to shake.

"The name's Tara," she said, "And I'm gonna help you win."

Nate took her hand and shook it. He was surprised that she wouldn't let go. He turned his eyes towards her. "Why didn't you congratulate me like they did?"

"You're going into an arena to kill kids your own age for the entertainment of others," Tara waved off the question and shrugged. She was blunt and honest. Nate liked her instantly. "I find there's nothing to celebrate about that."

"Then why do you want to help me?"

"Because I want to show people something they won't be expecting," Tara winked towards him. "Why are you here?"

"I got selected in the Reaping," Nate shrugged in response. He liked the fact that Tara had blonde hair that wasn't completely like Parker's.

"I heard from a very reliable source that you told the boy next to you not to volunteer," Tara smiled wickedly at the little statement. "That's not exactly being selected. Sure they picked your name but you chose to go up there instead of letting your friend do it for you. That counts for something."

Nate just shrugged. He didn't see the point in explaining that Paul was the breadwinner in his family. He was pretty certain the comment would either be ignored or give him more praise.

"I'm here to get you noticed," Tara explained to the boy with a light smile. It wasn't a pitying smile, but it was sad. She looked sad that he had to do this. Nate couldn't help but agree. He didn't want her to be sad though. He wanted to make his new ally happy. They needed a joke.

"I'm not that great at making friends so…" Nate chuckled and let the statement hang in the air. It had the desired effect. Tara laughed a little at the joke and then rose to her feet.

"Then I guess it's a good thing that I'm here to make certain you do," Tara winked at him again and then went to the closet. She lovingly removed the outfit from its hiding place and brought it towards the young man.

"Now let me explain how this works."

%

"No itching!" Tara reprimanded when Nate raised his hand towards his side again. The boy frowned and lowered his hand in agitation.

"I wasn't going to," he said. He widened his eyes as innocently as possible. She didn't look like she believed him though.

"Remember that you and Maggie are a united front, okay?" She didn't even wait for a reply, "You both have already agreed to be allies and all so Cinna and I are going to do everything in our power to make sure it happens. Your costumes are already synchronized so all you have to do is smile. OH, and you and Maggie have to hold hands."

Nate stopped walking at that announcement. "Maggie and I have to do what?"

Tara rolled her eyes and backpedaled. She got behind the boy and pushed him towards the chariots, explaining along the way. "It's just holding hands, Nate. I'm not asking you to kiss her or anything. You're just showing that you two are united in your fight during the games. We're broadcasting to the world that you both will be working together. It's the best way to make certain you both get as many sponsors as possible. It's no big deal… just your life."

"Well, when you put it that way," Nate couldn't help but grumble. He was probably the only person in the entirety of District Twelve that didn't have a personal relationship with Maggie. Now he had to show the world that he intended to win the game with her by his side? How were they going to pull that off? Worse still, what happened if that strategy got them both to the final two? They were so going to die.

"Hi, Nate!" Maggie plowed into his arms with a fierce hug. Nate just stared at her in amazement because she looked beautiful. They were practically wearing the same thing, and she looked better in it.

"Well," Nate shot towards his stylist in a pout, "I can see who got the better stylist."

Tara just laughed at his attempt and smiled viciously. "I know. You can practically identify all of the seams in her dress. You totally got the better stylist, Nate."

Nate didn't dignify that with an answer. He just glared.

"Remember," a man who had to be Cinna remarked to them slowly. He was pushing them into the cart while putting their hats on their heads. "Smile brightly and don't worry about the flames."

"And hold hands," Tara gave Nate a soft nudge to make certain she was understood.

Nate forced a smile to make his teeth show. He waved his eyebrows towards his stylist, taking hold of the baker's daughter's hand and raising it for all to see. Tara winked and Cinna nodded. Apparently they were going to ignore his sarcasm.

"Time to light you up," Tara explained simply. Cinna immediately did as instructed. Then the chariots pulled out into the presentation area. The crowd went wild.

%

"That was amazing!" Maggie was in a happy mood after their little introduction to the Capitol. They had been a blaze of fiery glory and they couldn't wait to see themselves during the recap. Well, Maggie couldn't wait. Nate just wanted to see what everybody else looked like. Maggie's flames were in his way.

"This is going to be so much fun," Maggie slammed herself onto the couch and turned on the television. Technically they should sleep because the next day was when they began training. Of course, neither one of them really cared about technicalities. They were just too curious.

"It's starting," Nate interrupted her. He tried to fight the tug of his lips at her excitement. The crowd had oohed and awed over their outfit. They were even on the monitors most of the time. Hopefully they would get to see everybody's outfits before the Capitol started having experts discuss the winners and the losers of the night. Fashion commentary was always a damper during the games.

District One was up first like always. Unlike always, James and Sophie were actually playing the united front card. The two were arm in arm in golden sparkles of clothes. Their stylists must have been going for the brother and sister card because they looked like twins. Their hair was made to enhance their features. Their make-up even detailed their eyes and cheekbones. The crowd cheered at the great entrance of the first of the night's costumes. Nate had to agree. The outfits were stunning. They looked like they reflected the sun.

The other outfits weren't as exciting or united. Everybody else stood apart from their fellow tribute. The girls had outfits separate from the guys and they all wore frowns. District Seven were still the same old trees they were last year and Marcus Starke of District Four was dressed to look like some sort of sea god. Everyone else was nothing compared to District One. Then District Twelve appeared.

Maggie gasped at the sight and Nate had to clasp his hands over his mouth to keep the air from escaping his lungs as well. They were on fire. Literally they were shimmering red sparks and looked like coal embers after a fire. Everybody's eyes fell away from District One and refused to pull away from the magnificence of District Twelve.

The fire danced around them and turned them into things of beauty. Maggie looked like a maze of embers and rainbows shining in the early morning. Nate looked like something he'd never seen before. They didn't look like children up for slaughter from the Seam. They looked like children from the Capitol on their way to battle. They looked like they were going to win.

"Get some rest," Haymitch ordered in a brisk voice. He was standing in the doorway with a pleased expression on his face. His eyes weren't as red as usual which meant he was sticking to the rules. His face looked a bit smug really. "You've got training tomorrow."

"And what's your word of advice on that?" Maggie was clearly willing to listen to him now. Nate couldn't blame her. They took the power away from the favorites. Anything more they did would only help them.

"Don't separate and stay away from the weapons," Haymitch shrugged in response. "I want you both to pay attention to everything except them actually. Save the weapons for the game makers. I want the tributes to underestimate you. It will give you the advantage."

%

They did as Haymitch asked. Maggie led Nate around the training arena to every station she wanted to learn about. They learned how to tie knots and make snares. Well, Maggie learned how to make snares while Nate decided to learn more complicated ones. The knot guide actually looked relieved that he had somebody who knew how to do more than tie his shoes. Maggie got bored of that after an hour and Nate was pulled away from a noose in development. Nate let her lead. His ally needed to learn more than he did. Besides, they both wanted to win and only one of them could. He would give her any whim she wanted.

Sophie Devereaux seemed to have the same strategy oddly enough. She was currently at the plant station studying everything she could. She seemed to be good at it too because the man in charge was smiling and laughing at her progress. He was even showing her how to properly prepare everything. Nate was confused by this. She was a Career. Why would she ignore the weapons? He shrugged at the thought and just let Maggie pull him wherever she wanted. She chose the camouflage station next.

Maggie turned out to be a natural at that. She could recreate most of the looks the guide instructed without help. Nate on the other hand was horrible. He couldn't even recreate the simple green and grey one. The guide and Maggie just laughed. He explained that he didn't usually wear any camouflage in the woods and the guide just nodded his hand in understanding. Apparently the camouflage was a protection against the other tributes and not the animals.

Maggie got bored of that station once she had mastermind every possible look they could have. The amount of time they spent there was thirty-two minutes tops and most of that time was spent laughing at Nate's inability to paint. Then, to Nate's horror, she led them to the water station. Ordinarily it wouldn't have been a problem, except Sophie was there too.

"Oh," Sophie stared at the two tributes for a moment and then sat down anyway, "Hello."

"Hi," Maggie waved towards the brunette with a smile. She extended her hand and actually introduced herself, "I'm Maggie and this is Nate."

Nate just stared at his fellow tribute in shock of that. It was such a Parker thing to do.

The girl from District One just smiled at the introduction and returned the handshake. She even extended her hand towards Nate and muttered, "I'm Sophie. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Nate coughed as he took her hand and said, "hi!"

Their situation was mildly uncomfortable as they learned how to put water into a bottle. They each learned how to identify drinkable water and toxic water. They even quietly learned how to treat the water so they couldn't die or get sick. They learned everything they could about water and allowed the silence to stretch on. It was very awkward. Then somebody decided to break the silence.

"Ooh, you're wearing a robbingjay pin!" Sophie was pointing at Nate's shirt and clapping with delight. She seemed completely fascinated by the pin. Nate was just confused. What was a Robbingjay?

"A-A robbingjay?"

Apparently Nate wasn't the only one confused. Maggie stared at the District One girl as if she were crazy. Nate had to fight the chuckle at her expression. He was pretty certain that Devereaux's glare was a hint that he was failing miserably. She turned towards Maggie and smiled sweetly.

"It's what we call mockingjays at home," she said. Nate coughed and bowed his head to look at his pin. Sophie was right. It was a mockingjay. The mockingjay was holding something in its mouth and was surrounded by a circle of gold. The boy from District Twelve blinked. He'd forgotten that Paul had given that to him.

"Why do you call them robbingjays?" Maggie actually looked curious. Nate tried to pretend he wasn't. He could already tell Maggie was starting to get attached to the enemy. He couldn't allow his own actions to mirror hers. They needed to pick their allies carefully and District One was always their enemy.

"Because the traits of the mockingbirds robbed away the trait of speech they inherited from the jabberjay," Sophie shrugged in answer. It seemed like she had been given that exact answer once in her lifetime. She didn't even seem deterred by the question.

"Right," Nate steered his ally away before the inevitable could happen, "Maggie, we'd better hit another one of the stations. I could use a lesson in plant life right about now."

"Sure, Nate," Maggie followed without protest. She smiled and waved towards the District One girl and skipped her way to the plant station with Nate. She waited until lessons began before she made her next comment.

"I want her on our side!"

Nate didn't answer her. Internally he was thinking the same thing. There was something unusual about the way the girl acted. She was following the same strategy they were but she wasn't. Unlike them, she was talking to everybody and making friends. She actually went to stations with other people anyways just to talk with them. She was making friends and Nate didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.

%

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Nate looked up and stared at the source of the voice. Sophie had demanded acceptance of the tributes from district twelve with a good natured smile firmly planted on her face. Maggie practically coughed on her bread in shock of it all. Careers don't sit with non-Careers.

"Sure," Nate replied in intrigue as he shared a curious glance with Maggie to find out what was to happen next.

"I know it's usually the Careers who like to sit and eat together at these functions," Sophie yammered as she gracefully sat down. "I know the games don't usually show us that but it's implied."

"Always," Maggie nodded along with curiosity practically vibrating off of her.

"I figured this could be a nice change for once," Sophie stated with a pleasant smile towards the blonde in hopes of friendship apparently. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly prime pickings for an ally."

"Which works just nicely for you," Nate commented immediately. He couldn't help it. There was just something about the way the girl didn't get accounted as a threat to her peers that was nagging at him. She wasn't exactly strong in the physical sense, but there was intelligence behind those charcoal eyes. There was something off about the fact that nobody volunteered for her too.

"It's only an advantage in the final round," Sophie nodded with watchful eyes directed his way. "An advantage in the final round is only good if you make it there though."

"And in order to do that you need allies," Maggie agreed with a calm demeanor about her.

"Exactly," Sophie grinned at her new friend's thoughts.

"Why didn't anybody volunteer to take your place?" Nate questioned just for the sake of argument. "I think you're the first person actually picked for the games in district one since the beginning of the games way back when."

"Let's just say that I'm not like the other people in my district," Sophie replied a bit sharply. It seemed a bit forced to him. "I have never trained for the Hunger Games like the rest of the children did."

"Oh?" Maggie questioned in genuine interest. "Do you find it just as vile as the rest of us?"

"I think you've been training for a different portion of the games," Nate suggested before the tribute from district one could even reply. "I think that's how you're going to win."

"Don't you want to win?" Sophie asked with a look of surprise on her features. She wasn't even going to deny the fact that his theory was true.

"I want to live," Nate nodded at the question in genuine interest of the young woman before him. "I don't want to do it at the expense of lives I have to take for other people's enjoyment."

"But what choice do we have?" Sophie shot back right on cue. She kind of looked like she was enjoying this side of argument. "It's a suitable punishment for rising up against the capitol."

"A price we have paid in full a thousand times over after the first game began," Nate bit back completely surprised by the fact that she wasn't going to hide her intelligence from him.

"A price we will continue to pay until those brave enough fight to amend it," Sophie agreed with a genuine smile actually appearing upon her features.

"You don't care about dying for people's entertainment?" Maggie stared at the girl from District One in awe.

"I only care about showing people that you mustn't judge a book by its cover," Sophie hissed towards her new friend with affection. "There are many ways to prove a point in the games without taking a life that is not your own."

"That's how you'll win," Nate realized aloud in shock of the most brilliant plan he had ever encountered before. "You plan to turn everybody else against each other. You're conning them into handing it to you on a silver platter."

"I beg your pardon?" Sophie stared at him in complete bewilderment that there was somebody smart enough to catch onto her strategy. It was a strategy that nobody had ever pulled off before. It was definitely something her mentor wouldn't have even thought of. She was good.

"Oh, you're good," Nate smirked at the girl's gorgeous plan in admiration. "I wish I thought of it."

"You're very smart, aren't you?" Sophie stared at the boy in disappointment.

"Very," Nate whispered ever so quietly, "don't worry. I won't tell the others your little secret. I'll let you take care of them for me."

"You're still going to win after everything you just told me?" Sophie stared at the mastermind in shock.

"Have to," Nate agreed with a smug smile. "I promised my friends I would return so they wouldn't die."

"You're going to feed your whole district if you win," Sophie tilted her head in confusion of the whole concept, "aren't you?"

"That's the plan," Nate nodded as he quickly bowed his way out the door.

"He's an interesting young man," Sophie commented to the female tribute of District Twelve.

"His father is the local town drunk," Maggie explained with a sad smile. "He's trying to redeem his family."

"Oh," Sophie's voice registered a moment of glee at the knowledge before it dropped down to its pleasantness again. "Well, I hope he gets it."

Nate grinned. His theory was right. She was hiding something, something valuable. The boy from District Twelve continued walking away with a smile on his face. He found the biggest threat in the games and her name was Sophie Devereaux.


	4. Scores and the Interview

**A/N:** _The Game Makers and The Interview: It made sense to throw them together. Don't worry, I promise this will slow down once we get in the arena. There's just so much that happens that I had to make cuts somewhere and writing flashbacks are surprisingly difficult for this._

%%%%%%%%%%%

They were standing in line waiting for their turn. It was time to impress the game makers and they each had to do it alone. Maggie would be the very last person in the show room. Nate had to go right before her. Those were the rules. The male tribute of each district would go first and show off their potential talent. Then the female tribute would follow until each district was finished. District One was first as always and District Twelve was last. They watched as Sophie Devereaux disappeared into the room.

"Do you think she'll do well?" Maggie questioned quietly. There was an odd twitch to her fingers and she looked like she was five seconds away from bouncing on her feet. She was nervous, the boy realized.

"I'm not too sure," Nate shrugged in response. It had been the question on his mind since he realized his greatest enemy was a girl. "I'm not too sure her strategy will benefit from a low score, but I wouldn't be surprised if that's her angle. Only one person was able to pull that off before."

Maggie shook her head at the thought and looked down at her feet. "I don't think that's what she's going to do," she said.

"I don't either," Nate agreed. James seemed to be doing most of the leg work in keeping her in the Careers alliance. He knew something the others didn't and he planned on using it. Sophie wouldn't benefit from going further under the radar. Everyone will expect a trap if she does.

"What are you going to do for your presentation?"

Nate looked towards his fellow tribute and shrugged again. He had no idea. "Probably just shoot some arrows and wave around like a banshee."

"Sounds like a plan," she laughed at that. The statement was meant to make her laugh and it did. Nate smiled at the tiny victory. The next tribute went in.

"I wish this line would hurry up," Maggie pouted. She was nervous and bored, a bad combination.

Nate bent down on his knee to stare her directly in the eyes. He smiled at the wide blue-grey eyes staring back at him. "Hey," he gently placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her, "We can talk about anything you want to talk about until they get down to us. We have a while."

Maggie beamed at his reply and just started talking. She talked about the bakery and how she would spend hours decorating the cakes with extravagant frosting. Frosting wasn't exactly something people could afford in District Twelve so the frosted cakes were typically used for window displays and she loved it. Christmas was her favorite time of year because her mother allowed her to decorate the windows. She would paint little snow men and reindeer. She would paint trees and ice and any form of snow she could think of. She loved painting. It was her favorite hobby. Nate smiled at that. He enjoyed the way Maggie talked about painting. It was as if she was about to conquer the world.

"Nathan Ford," the announcer cried out through the wall. He said it as if there were tons of people in the room instead of just the two. He really didn't even seem to care about the nervousness of the District Twelve tributes. Nate sighed and stood up to go inside.

"Good luck," Maggie squeezed his hand and smiled.

Nate smiled back and said, "You too."

He marched into the show room and refused to look back. He held his head high and took everything in stride.

The show room was exactly like the training room only smaller. The different stations of plants, water, paints, and weapons were all there for disposal. The game makers were only somewhat paying attention. That was the problem with being last. Everybody was bored with the whole process by the time they got to you.

Nate took a deep breath and went straight for the arrows. They were different from the ones at home. They were heavier and a bit bulky towards the end of the shaft. The bow wasn't much better. Its weight was focused in the middle but the grip was chunky. The boy shot a few duds just to get a feel for the set. Then he aimed for a target and fired.

The arrow hit the heart immediately and Nate grinned at his success. He turned to look towards the game makers and was disheartened to see they weren't even paying attention. Nate huffed in disgust and decided to just have fun with it then. They weren't paying attention. He might as well use it as practice.

The young man jumped and dived around whatever object he wanted and fired off. His arrow hit the heart every time. He rolled around the arena and shot arrows from above and below. He laughed at his great skill as every arrow hit the heart. He was actually having fun for once, but the game makers weren't watching. That was ticking him off. How was he supposed to get a good score if they didn't even see him shoot? The boy had an idea and raised his arrow. He was going to get their attention and make them see what he had done.

"Your time is up," the announcer called off. Nate dropped the bow and arrow immediately. He glared at the game makers for their total lack of attention and strolled out. He couldn't help but think about the fact that his score needed to be higher than Sophie's. He didn't care about anything else. He just wanted to beat her.

%

Maggie entered the dining cart with a frown on her features. She looked upset at what she had done. Whatever happened during her presentation, it was awful. Nate had never seen her look so sour. He wanted to cheer her up but he couldn't quite find the stomach for it. He understood why she was so upset. The bastard game makers that they were didn't pay attention. Nate understood Maggie's frustration perfectly. It was the same as his own.

"What happened?" Haymitch demanded simply. He didn't seem to catch the hint from their sour looks apparently. He actually looked interested.

"I threw weights around and some knives but they didn't notice so I threw a knife into the apple in the pig's mouth." Maggie said it so fast that Nate almost missed everything she said. When his brain finally figured it out, he just stared at her. He was completely impressed at her guts. She just attacked the game makers like he wanted to.

Haymitch didn't look quite as impressed. In fact, he didn't even seem to have an opinion. He just wore a blank expression and didn't even seem to register her words. Nate was worried. A silent Haymitch was never a good thing. At least, that's what Nate heard during one of his father's drunken rants. His information wasn't always reliable.

"What about you, Nate?"

Maggie changed the subject quite quickly. She lost some of Nate's respect at that move, especially when she stuck some soup into her mouth and looked at him expectantly. Nate's eyes narrowed towards her. He knew there was something wrong with her.

"I didn't fire on the game makers because I ran out of time," he said, "So, I spent the rest of my presentation just goofing off and firing arrows from whatever position I could invent. I got the target's heart every time I fired."

"So you didn't fire at the game makers because you ran out of time?" Haymitch raised his eyebrows high at the boy's statement. Nate couldn't tell what kind of reaction that was so he decided to stay quiet. It was probably the safest route.

"They're going to be airing our results soon," Maggie eased her way into the conversation with another smile. She kept doing that. Everything she said required a smile from her. It was cruel.

"Good idea," Nate jumped at the chance to get out of trouble. Haymitch distracted meant good things, a lot of good things. It meant they wouldn't get into trouble.

Nate sat down on the sofa and watched the capitol crest shimmer its way on the screen. Maggie plopped down right beside him and looked just as interested. Haymitch watched them with calculating eyes and sat down in his usual seat. His vision flicked from the television to them and back again. He was definitely deciding their punishment.

Nate turned up the volume and leant forward in his chair. He was going to pay attention to the scores. The pictures of each tribute and the district they represented flashed upon the screen and into a little corner until they were all surrounding the crest in some way. Then, James picture flashed and grew big enough to cover the whole screen. Numbers started to roll under his image in fast and vivid detail. The numbers began to slow between three and five. The flying numbers finally stopped on a nine. The nine grew red and fireworks burst on the screen. James Sterling had gotten himself a nine for his District which was a great position to be placed in. At least, that's what the commentators kept saying about the boy's score. A nine wasn't too weak and it wasn't too strong. It was a playable number and District One should feel proud to have somebody score a nine out of twelve.

At least that's what they said. Nate was pretty certain James was privately fuming somewhere because he didn't get a ten. The boy definitely had a strategy they needed to be aware of. He was just as smart as Sophie and that was dangerous in itself. Speaking of, the image of Sophie Devereaux burst onto the screen. The numbers began to roll and Nate watched them carefully. They slowed down at twelve then one. They stopped on eleven and grew red with fire. Nate stared at the screen completely perplexed. He had to get at least an eleven in order to be on her radar. Great, that wasn't going to be challenging under the circumstances.

"You were right, Nate!" Maggie slammed her shoulder into his as lightly as possible. "She is just trying to make everybody figure out what to do with her. She would have been safer if she had scored more towards the middle though."

"No, she's right where she needs to be."

That voice was Haymitch. He was staring at the screen in awe. His eyes were already calculating the damage Sophie could cause to their plans. Their mentor was aware of the threat now.

"Everybody is wondering what she's capable of," he continued, "They have been ever since the Reaping when nobody volunteered for her. They all thought it was because she was weak and frail. Sure she's beautiful but even you guys noticed that she didn't exactly seem interested in the weapons."

"But she's the one to beat," Nate pointed to the screen just to make his point understood. He knew what was coming next. He was sure of it.

"She is indeed," Haymitch agreed. "She just showed she's of value to the other tributes. Everybody is going to be interested in taking her on as an ally."

"Everybody except us," Nate decided. He nodded his head and pushed himself to the back of the sofa. He crossed his arms over his chest and ignored Maggie's questioning look. His enemy just made herself an asset. There was only one way he was going to beat her and that was if he scored an eleven or higher. The only problem with scoring higher than an eleven would be that he would become a target. Nate snarled in sudden understanding. That was probably her plan all along. She knew he was the threat and he knew she was his as well. This was going to be interesting.

They watched the others and complained about the fact that they all seemed to be getting eights or nines. Everybody was lowballing it. Marcus Starke even managed to get a five. It was contradictory to his great bulk but it was some form of strategy they were sure. Soon Thresh's ten appeared on the screen and they were silent. Haymitch even concentrated on the screen with rapt attention the moment the District Eleven girl left the screen. It was time for Nate.

Nate watched the numbers rumble and roll on the screen. He saw tens and threes and twos and fours flickering in quick succession but no elevens. He wanted an eleven. No, he needed an eleven. He needed to defeat Sophie. That was all that mattered. The numbers began to slow on a nine then a one. Eleven glowed bright gold and burst into sparks. He did it. He got an eleven.

"Congratulations, Nate!" Maggie slapped him on the back and smiled wider in congratulations. Nate just stared at it confused.

"But they didn't even watch?"

"Apparently they were paying better attention than you though," Haymitch smirked at the shocked look. Nate just tried to return the smile but he failed miserably. There was one more name for the scores and then they would be done.

"Come on, Maggie," Nate cheered when the numbers started barreling down.

%

Nate growled at the costume Tara was forcing him to wear. He knew it would look fantastic on camera but it was binding in odd places. It was hot too.

"Quit fidgeting," Tara slapped his hand away from his collar for the millionth time. She took great care in shaping his curls and popping out his eyes more. She even smiled when he rebelliously fiddled with his collar right in front of her.

"You're going to be fine," she said. She patted him on the shoulder and did a quick flip of her hair. She moved her finger over his forehead again. "I hear you're going to be a wonder during your interview!"

Nate blinked at that. Haymitch had pretty much left the room muttering obscenities as he went. In fact, the mentor was dead certain that Nate was going to get himself killed just by speaking. The boy didn't exactly argue with him. It was Haymitch's fault that he mentioned his relationship with his father. Everybody in District Twelve knew that was a tricky one.

"Well," Tara smiled at his shocked expression. She politely closed his gaping mouth and looked him straight in the eyes. "At least you're going last."

"Yeah so I can be the last thing everybody laughs at before the games."

"Or," Tara lifted his head up to meet her gaze, "You could just pretend you're talking to me and have a friendly conversation."

"Haymitch and I tried that already," Nate scrunched up his nose at the idea. "He left the room screaming."

"You and Haymitch are a lot alike," Tara shrugged in understanding, "Everything you are is what Haymitch finds most annoying about himself. It's understandable that he can't stand to have a conversation with someone exactly like him."

"Excuse me?" Did she just insult him? Why did he even let her?

"Haymitch sees himself and probably even your father in you," Tara smiled gently at his obvious offense. "They both won the games. That is all you need to know."

Nate nodded in understanding. He did butt heads with the two champions almost constantly. It made sense that it would be because they were similar in thinking. And it did increase his chances of winning. Maybe he could do this interview thing.

"So," Tara interrupted his thoughts with a wider smile, "Talk to me and forget everybody else."

"You got it!"

%

The tributes arrived onto the stage in single file via district. Because the boys got to go first during their last training session presentations, the girls would be interviewed first. So, each district was led by the female tribute and the male calmly walked in their wake. Everybody went all out for the costumes this year. Each of the female tributes were wearing figure enhancing dresses while the males wore elegant tuxes. It looked like they were all going to a special ball instead of into an arena for slaughter. It was a haunting thought.

Caesar Flickerman came onto the stage in his usual electric blue hair with matching electric blue suit. He did his usual hello and greetings of the Hunger Games. He even showed off a few magic tricks by releasing doves into the air. The crowd laughed and cheered at the display and Nate was free to observe the other tributes. His eyes caught on Sophie Devereaux and his stomach clenched.

Tonight she was wearing a scarlet dress that detailed every single curve to her body. There was a slit to the right of the dress that revealed her leg all the way up to mid-thigh. Her hair was curled loosely and the right was pinned back by a vibrant flower of yellow and red. She looked like a scarlet goddess of fire. Her high-heeled red shoes made certain of it with the smokey effect hovering over her eyelids. Nate did his best to ignore the little nagging feeling he had in the back of his mind. There was something he was missing. It was very important and very unexpected. It involved the girl from District One. There was something about her that seemed off. Maggie noticed it too.

"She's sitting up in her chair properly, Nate. She didn't do that when she ate with us."

And she was right. Sophie didn't sit up straight in her chair. She did exactly what they did. She slouched down and dug into her food as if she wouldn't see any ever again. She ate with the exact same abandon they did. She even ate just as much which was more than her comrades. She was copying their strategy to a certain degree, and she did get an eleven during her private session.

"Dammit, I was right," Nate groaned at the cold fact. She was looking for weaknesses. That's why she was making nice with everyone and making it appear as if she wasn't a threat.

"Sophie Devereaux," Caesar announced and the crowd went wild as she seductively walked towards the interviewer. She bowed and waved graciously towards the audience. She even blew a kiss towards the cameras and laughed at the cheers from some of the men. Caesar just whistled and motioned her to spin around. She did and Nate coughed at the way the dress shimmered in the light. It was like it was on fire. The crowd applauded the handy work of the dress and Sophie giggled at the spinning she was doing. Nate silently fumed.

"Well, calm down my silly little dear," Caesar calmly flicked his finger on her nose and she smiled brightly at the contact. "Let's talk shop for a moment. First off an eleven, you scored and eleven during the training session. How does that make you feel?"

Sophie's smile grew wider at the question and Nate nearly sneered at the sparkle of achievement in her eyes. It was a sparkle of a plan going smoothly. "I'm surprised actually," she said, "I never expected to do well at the training session. An eleven is just an amazing turn of events for me."

"Now to the important part," Caesar's voice actually turned serious for a moment. Then his face flashed some pearly white teeth and he was laughing again. "What was it like to be the first tribute of District One to have been picked instead of volunteered?"

"It was sad really," Sophie frowned at the question. The entire crowd awed at the look of sadness on her features. Nate practically felt his veins pulse in indignation. She was playing the sympathy card and looked like a goddess. She was making everyone believe she was just a pretty face that got mixed up in the wrong bit of luck. She was prime pickings for sponsors. "My parents had always begged me to avoid volunteering. I guess they never expected me to actually get picked. I don't blame anyone for not volunteering. I never really fit in anywhere at home so I wasn't really surprised. Everybody was just curious to find out what I'm made of. I really hope I make them all proud."

Nate felt nauseous at the way the crowd was falling for her tricks. Couldn't they see the cunning in her eyes? She knew nobody was going to volunteer for her. The poor saps were just eating out of her hands. It wasn't fair. Now Nate was going to have to work twice as hard to beat her.

Sophie curtsied for the crowd again and then took her seat. James went up and started talking about his great muscles and his intelligence. Nate tuned him out instantly. He was too busy fuming over the fact that Sophie Devereaux was playing the innocent victim card. Oh, he was going to make her pay for that. She was no victim. She was far too smart for that. She was just doing everything in her power to make certain he ended up on the losing end. Well, she wasn't going to succeed. No, he was going to beat her at her own game. He was sure of it.

Nate blinked and it was Maggie's turn. She smiled brightly and squeezed his hand before she went towards center stage. Nate smiled as he watched her go. She was wearing an orange dress with flames too. Her flames were more vibrant and visible every time she walked. She grinned and waved at the crowd and extended her hand towards Caesar. The host took her hand and kissed it. Maggie giggled and her interview began.

"So Maggie," Caesar sighed, "How does it feel being a girl like you standing on a stage like this?"

"It so surreal," Maggie giggled at the question, "I feel like a princess right now but that's probably wrong considering tomorrow is the day the games begin."

"There's nothing wrong with feeling like a princess," Caesar chuckled dramatically, "and you look gorgeous."

"Thank you, my stylist Cinna made this for me. He told me it would make me look like a flickering candle and a sun setting on the water."

"Really?" Caesar indulged the girl with a smile. Then he twirled his finger and begged her to spin. Maggie obliged without complaint. She giggled as she turned and her golden locks streamed behind her with orange. Her dress looked like a sunset too. In fact, there was a tiny sun slowly setting as she spun around. The faster she spun the quicker the sun would set. Cinna was very good at making people look good. He even managed to make Sophie's dress look like a simple patch work job. Nate smiled at the tiny victory his fellow tribute got.

"My, my that is beautiful." Caesar clapped his hands together in praise. He then looked towards the audience and beckoning them to do the same. The crowd erupted into applause and whistles for Maggie. They seemed to be just as easily captivated by Maggie's good nature as the rest of District Twelve. That was good. "Tell me, dear, is there someone special you're fighting to get home too?"

Maggie gasped at the question. She looked completely thrown by it. She giggled shyly and thought over how to answer. "Well," she said, "I haven't really meant anybody special yet. I was hoping I would sometime soon but I'm just not sure now."

"Well if you win you'll definitely be getting the men back home to plop themselves at your feet," Caesar joked. The crowd applauded and laughed as expected.

"I don't know if I'll win," Maggie shrugged sadly, "I'm not the one who has everything to fight for."

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Maggie smiled innocently towards the audience, "Back home I have two parents who love me and work hard to get me everything I need. I'm the baker's daughter so I don't really want for much because I don't really have to. Sure we sometimes have tough times but it's not as bad for us as it is for most of District Twelve. Nate's the one who has something to win for. He has his father's honor to bring back and his little friend Parker needs him to take care of her."

Nate stared at the female tribute in shock. The girl just told everybody exactly why he was there. She just told everybody what he was fighting for. Maggie just gave him a whole slew of sponsors. She really was the greatest person on the planet and now everybody knew it. The entire Capitol was going to mourn her if she died. Maggie Collins just made herself a necessary ally. Oh, Sophie Devereaux was probably fuming at the loss of attention. Nate was only too glad to help finish her off.

He and Maggie high fived as they switched places. Nate smiled wide and waved to the crowd the moment he was in center stage. He shook Caesar's hand and even felt himself laugh at the way the girls of the Capitol were screaming his name. His nervousness disappeared completely the moment he found Tara.

"So, Nate, you got an eleven as your training score and a family back home to fight for," Caesar began with a laugh, "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Talk to people," Nate joked. Tara snorted and Nate laughed. The audience seemed to find that funny too. He was off to a good start.

"Describe Parker to us. Is she someone special hoping you get home real soon?"

Nate laughed at the idea and Tara nodded her head encouragingly. "No, it's nothing like that," he said, "We're friends. I think of her as my little sister. She's a little spitfire and we do everything we can together. I keep her out of trouble and she gives me a good laugh." Tara smiled at that. Nate felt his chest tighten at the thought of his friend. "I really miss her right now."

"Well hopefully you'll be the one to go home and see her again," Caesar smiled, "So, I have to ask. Who do you think is going to be your greatest competitor throughout this competition?"

And there it was. That was the question Nate was prepared for. The boy turned his face away from Tara and made a show of looking through his opponents. His eyes connected with a pair of charcoal eyes and he saw the rage flicker in them. He smiled and turned towards the audience.

"Honestly," Nate took a deep breath, "I think Marcus is the one to beat. Sure Sophie scored the same in training as I did but she's an easy target. Her plan is pretty simple once you figure it out. You see, she's trying to get people to keep her around just to see what she can do. She's going to be the one who stabs everybody in the back and clears the way for Marcus. After all, we all know he's got her wrapped around his little finger."

The crowd laughed and Nate smiled. It was a blatant lie. Marcus didn't have Sophie wrapped around her finger and now he put the idea in the District Four tributes head. He would be so focused on trying to get Sophie that Nate would be free to pluck off the remains. Everybody could tell by the way James' hand clasped onto the girl's that he liked her. Nate smirked when the buzzer went off. His plan was now underway. Sophie was now the center of a love triangle and would have a tougher time controlling the situation. That gave him plenty of time to establish his alliance with Maggie and gain other members. He was winning.

Take that Devereaux, he thought.

The interviews ended with the tributes slowly returning to their chambers. A dispute between Marcus and James looked like it was about to start already. Nate smiled and grabbed Maggie's hand. He was going to get her out of there before the peacekeepers came. With any luck, the two would injure some of the others in their struggle and make the battle a bit easier. This was turning into the perfect plan. Then Sophie Devereaux popped up in front of them.

"You bastard!" Sophie slammed herself into the boy from District Twelve as hard as she could. Nate was surprised that he actually moved. In fact, the girl's push actually forced him to back into a nearby vase and knock it off the mount with his elbow. His plan was backfiring fast.

"Hey!" Maggie plunged herself in between them before something bad could happen. Her eyes were wide and her fingers were twitching nervously. "It's illegal to fight with other tributes before the games."

"You son of a bitch!" Sophie pointed a finger towards the man and looked about ready to kill him. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I just took care of an enemy," Nate said as quietly as possible. He wanted to make certain that Maggie and Sophie knew exactly who he was talking to. He wanted to make certain Sophie knew who she was dealing with. He wanted the chess match to be out on the field.

"You're going to regret this," Sophie promised with pursed lips. She didn't even raise a question or protest to his words. He was right and they both knew it. The girl from District One stomped away from her opponents in a mad fit. Nate smiled. Hopefully she would spend the night coming up with the perfect revenge instead of sleeping. It would only work in his favor if she did.

"Come on," Maggie growled at him. He frowned at that. He just gave them an advantage. Why was she upset?

Maggie led him away from the loud hallway and into his bedroom. She closed the door behind her and turned around. She crossed her hands over her chest and narrowed her eyes at him.

"What?" Nate felt obligated to ask what he did wrong. He was helping.

"You just alienated somebody who would have made a better ally than an enemy," Maggie explained bitterly. She was practically fuming now. Wait, what?

"You wanted Sophie as an ally?"

"You know it would have been a smart play."

"But she's a Career!" Maggie had to know that. Nate knew it the moment he saw her at their introduction thingy. She had to know they couldn't be trusted. They were required to watch the games all the way through after all.

"And she was interested in us!" Maggie hissed at him. Nate stepped back at that. Maggie had never gotten angry before. He had never seen her lose her temper in school, not once. There was something else going on.

"What is this really about?"

"You just made us one of the strongest players' targets," Maggie scowled at him. She was starting to calm though. It was weird how quickly she could switch off her anger. It was one of the first things Nate learned about her over the few weeks they spent training for the games.

"You're worried about me," Nate laughed at the idea of it. Nobody ever worried about him, except Parker. He wasn't really worth being worried about. There had been this one time when he came home late because he got in a fight with one of the boys at school. The kid was bullying Parker so Nate had to put a stop to it. The kid lost but Nate had a split lip and a black eye.

He had been avoiding coming home because he didn't want to answer all the questions. Adrianne always asked questions when he was in a fight. So, he climbed through his bedroom window and started taking care of himself. The next thing he knew Adrianne was slamming into his room in a hot mess of a temper and ordering him to explain everything. She had been so worried that she almost started beating him up for the trouble he caused. Jimmy had been passed out drunk and Adrianne's temper faded the moment she saw his bruises. Maggie sort of reminded him of Adrianne, especially now because her hands were on her hips and she was debating what to do next.

"I'll be fine, Maggie," Nate kept his voice as soft as possible. "I was just letting her know that I was onto her game and ready to go. I'm sorry. I should have consulted you first but I was mad at the strategy she pulled. Plus, you did knock the rug out from under her when you explained you didn't want to win."

"I don't."

Maggie's voice was so small. She bowed her head and sighed in frustration. Nate stared at her in confusion because he just didn't get it. Why didn't she want to win? She had a family that loved her and a whole town backing her also.

"Why?"

Maggie looked up at him with glassy eyes. She looked a bit embarrassed by what she was about to reveal. Nate was nervous about that. He sort of felt guilty for causing her discomfort.

"I don't want to kill people," she said, "It's not right. Fighting to slaughter people for the sake of sport and entertainment, it's just… not right."

"I won't let you kill anybody," Nate promised immediately. He meant it too. He wasn't going to let Maggie sacrifice anything she didn't want to. Besides, that was what he was there for. He was supposed to make certain she didn't have to do anything difficult. "I promise, Maggie."

Maggie slammed herself into him and gave him a big hug. Nate awkwardly patted her on the head. The boy then enclosed his arms around her and did his best to comfort her. His thoughts about home and the ones he had to fight tomorrow were so dense that he almost missed his fellow tribute's next words.

"Thank you," she said.


	5. The Games Have Begun

**A/N:** _I promised you two!_

%%%%%%%%%%%%

Nate awoke with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Today was the first day of the Hunger Games. Today was the day he was going into the battle.

"Twenty-four go in, one comes out."

Nate bitterly rolled out of bed and repeated the mantra to wake himself up. Today was the day that he was going to become a killer. He needed to at least look the part. He calmly hopped into the shower and allowed the hot water to soak through to his bones. He didn't know when he would get to take another shower. He was going to take advantage of the time he had.

"It's time to go," Effie called through the door. Nate had almost forgotten she even existed. It was her job to keep them on schedule. Nate hated the fact that he was going to have to deal with that on top of everything else today.

He ate everything he could and ignored the protest in his stomach. He didn't know when his last meal would be and he didn't care. He just needed to thank Tara for her help and battle it out.

"Nate," Tara waved towards him the moment he entered the room. She was wearing a white dress and looked sad. Her blonde hair was locked away in a pony-tail and she wore brown sandals. She looked sad that Nate was in this situation.

"Thank you for all your help, Tara," Nate nodded his head towards her. He wasn't going to cry. He was going to win. He had to keep that in mind.

Tara smiled at his defiance and immediately went to the closet. She selected the garment that was meant for the games and careful handed it to him.

"The jacket is thick so expect cold nights. The rest of your clothes are meant to draw sweat away from the body so expect a humid climate. Boots tend to be…"

"I know," Nate cut her off just to keep the moment as simple as possible. There could be no sadness. They had to depart with thoughts that they would meet again.

"My money's on you," Tara pointed towards him with green eyes trained to kill. Nate grinned at that and nodded his head. He understood what she meant. Then she held up a golden mockingjay pin and placed it on his shirt. "That way you know who you're fighting for."

"Thanks," Nate smiled wider at the familiar feeling of home. Paul's careful advice filled his chest with the knowledge of who he was fighting for. It was a reminder of his promise to Parker. He was going to win to take care of her.

"I'll walk you to the pod shoot." It wasn't a question and Nate didn't argue. He was happy to have the company on his way towards the arena. His whole life was about to change. It was nice to know somebody in the Capitol was on his side.

"Haymitch told me to tell you not to go to the Cornucopia," Tara explained. She was making an unnecessary fuss over his collar and the boy let her. He was willing to take as much time as he could. "Promise me you won't go to the Cornucopia!"

"Promise," he said. He meant it. He wasn't going to disobey his team. He was going to win. He needed to listen to their every word.

"Good now scoot," Tara pushed him towards the pod without another word. Nate climbed in and waited. A glass tunnel lowered around him and all noise was cut off. Nate felt the floor moving up and turned around to wave good-bye to Tara. She nodded her head and then disappeared behind a slab of concrete wall. Nate turned towards the front again and felt wind from above. Then he was in an open field with a forest on his left and the Cornucopia dead center. It was by a lake and glittered ominously in the sunlight.

The clock flashed sixty above their heads as the announcer of the games began the usual pre-games speech. Nobody moved an inch within their tiny pod-circle. Nobody was going to try to get a head start. There were bombs implanted and set to explode if anybody stepped a foot out of their circle before the sixty second was up. A couple games before Adrianne died a girl's token had fallen from her lapels. Her parents didn't even get the chance to watch her try to survive. The token set off the bomb and she was shipped home in tiny pieces that took the game makers forever to collect. Everybody knew to stay in their circle until the sixty seconds were up.

The countdown began and Nate looked around at the other twenty-three tributes. Most of their eyes were on the Cornucopia ahead. Nate smirked and angled himself towards the forest. He spotted a bag that was moments away from the forest. That would be his ticket for survival. He was going to get it. He nodded towards Maggie and was surprised to see her poised for the Cornucopia. He knew Haymitch wouldn't tell her to do something else. Why was she going there?

Nate looked in the direction Maggie was aiming for and gasped. She was going for the knives. He frowned in confusion and turned his head towards his ally to ask why. She pointed her head to their right and then aimed her body back towards her goal. Nate looked towards his right and noticed Sophie Devereaux aiming for the silvery weapons as well. That must have been how she earned her eleven. She was skilled at throwing knives too.

Thirty seconds….

Nate turned his attention towards his blonde companion and shook his head. He nodded towards a group of weapons near the forest and waited for her to catch on. She nodded in understanding and repositioned herself. The male tribute of District Twelve smiled and peered around at what the Cornucopia had to offer. He ignored the way Sophie's eyes were following him

Ten…

Nate saw the bow and arrows gleaming in the Cornucopia and knew they were meant for him. He started to angle his body to run towards them instead of the woods like planned. If he had his bow and arrows he would be unstoppable.

Nine…

Maggie caught his focus out of the corner of his eye. He turned to her and she shook her head no. She didn't want him to disobey Haymitch. She wanted him to follow orders.

Eight…

Nate noticed Sophie staring at his arrows and grimaced. He positioned himself towards his arrows again. He would not let Sophie Devereaux have his arrows.

Seven…

Sophie winked at the boy from District Twelve and smiled serenely. She knew exactly what he was going for. She was even going to fight him for it. Dammit!

Six…

Maggie was still shaking her head in the negative. Nate tilted his head towards Sophie and tried to explain his dilemma. Maggie narrowed her eyes and frowned.

Five…

Sophie was now taunting him with her smile. She was officially daring him to go after the arrows that held his fancy. He had to go after them.

Four…

Maggie's frown deepened at his determined need to fetch the arrows. Sophie's smile grew at the turmoil she was causing. Nate growled and pointed in the one direction he did not want to go.

Three…

Two…

One…

And the Hunger Games began.


	6. Day One and Day Two

**A/N:** _Let the games begin!_

%

Nate bolted from the platform and raced towards the bag closest to the woods. He knocked out the boy trying to claim his bag and sped away, putting the bag on his shoulders. He looked towards the Cornucopia for a moment and balked. Maggie ran towards it. She even beat everybody else there. She had managed to get her hands on a backpack and was already headed towards the woods when the others got there. Nate smiled as the blonde disappeared into the woods and looked towards his arrows again. Sophie had them in her hands and was already twirling knives she had found on the way. Nate growled at that and started heading towards her. He stopped the moment a knife almost clipped his nose and imbedded itself in a nearby tree. He looked back and noticed James had some knives too. Nate grimaced and immediately plucked out the knife thrown towards him. He ducked into the trees and felt something imbed itself in his pack. He grinned. He had another knife.

The boy from District Twelve moved deeper through the forest in a diagonal fashion to get out of the way. He had to find food and water. He could wait until later to search through his pack. He needed to separate himself far enough away from the Cornucopia. There was always a blood bath during the first day of the games. It was an unofficial rule. The more bodies dead on the first day, the less you had to kill later on.

Nate continued running for an hour before he finally stopped. He had successfully avoided the traps the game makers had put into the woods and was now far enough away from the Cornucopia to start working on survival. Water was now on the top of his list of things to find. The young boy found a rock and carefully set to work on finding out what he had for survival.

The pack contained a water bottle and the necessary iodine to treat it. That was good. There was a pair of sunglasses that did nothing to block the sun and nice windbreaker. A sleeping bag built for all types of weather was in there as well. It even had some dried fruit and nuts. The only thing he needed now was water and he would be set. The only set back now? His pack was orange and stuck out like a sore thumb. He shrugged. He would have to worry about that when mud was available. In order for that he needed water.

The boy from District Twelve took in his sights and focused on remembering the many ways to find water. He looked to his right and found nothing but trees and leaves. He looked to his left and found pretty much the same thing. He looked behind him and saw nothing that would help him locate his essential element. He looked straight ahead and blinked. There was an incline up ahead. It was suddenly and only people who traveled through the woods and hunted wood have seen it immediately. He grinned. Water flowed downhill and he was currently at the bottom of the hill. He was close. All he had to do was decide which direction.

Nate moved close to the hill and observed the blades of grass. He looked to his left and then he looked to his right. He observed the coloring a bit more scrutinously and groaned. He wasn't close enough to water to visibly see the difference and one wrong turn would be horrible news. He had to make a decision based on other signs. Great, this wouldn't turn out bad.

Oddly enough, it didn't. Nate had easily found a game trail towards the right of the hill. Nobody attacked him and it didn't take him as long as anticipated. The water was going to be the tricky part. He didn't know how far away it was from the hill and it was the one thing he wanted most. The heat from the sun had increased drastically every hour for the past five hours. If he didn't find water by nightfall he was as close to dead as he could be. His fatigue was getting to him too. Sweat from the heat, sweat from running, sweat from worrying about finding water; they were all contributing factors that were making him far more dehydrated than he needed to be. If one of the other tributes decided to pick him off, he'd be done in if they had a drink of water. Somehow Nate was certain that wasn't going to happen. The blood bath at the Cornucopia was a good distraction and all.

Nate felt his foot sink without his permission and felt the sweat increase because of it. He looked down and sighed in relief. His right foot had found water. The boy quickly yanked his foot out and bent down to take a sip. His hand pulled up short only centimeters from the pond. He looked around for any signs of predators lurking nearby then studied the pond. To an ordinary observer it was just a bit of freestanding water. To somebody who hunts for a living, it was a trap. There were no sounds emitting from the pond, no forms of bubbles, no movement whatsoever. There were leaves floating around and animal tracks weren't anywhere near it. The water even looked black. That meant only one thing. It was dead water.

Nate immediately jumped back from the pond and woke his mind up a bit. Dead water carried diseases and little to no oxygen. He learned this lesson early on in his hunting career. He had found a fallen bird. It had been baby mockingjay, coincidentally. It had fallen from its nest and broken its wing. The boy from District Twelve had scooped it up out of pity. His mother had just died and he found all things dying to be quite sad. He was going to save the bird, so he immediately thought about cleaning it off so it wouldn't attract prey. The boy had found a tiny pond not too far away and carefully set the tiny bird down. He scooped up some of the water without a second thought and gave it to the bird. The bird drank and as the boy started wiping its feathers it began to convulse. The bird's twitched and snapped and then suddenly stopped. Nate had tried to figure out why but the bird was perfectly silent. The boy cried when he realized the bird was dead and immediately went to bury it in the yard. The next day Nate had gotten sick and nearly died. Adrianne had made him take her to the source of water he drank from and he did. That was the day he learned what standing water could do if you weren't careful.

Nate smiled at his new discovery. This would come in handy when his enemies came by. The boy quickly ripped a small section of his shirt and carefully dipped it into the water. He dripped a few drops of iodine on the soaked cloth and immediately started using it to cool himself off. Standing ponds were bad to drink, yes, but they were great for cooling down, and they told you how close you were to drinkable water. The boy grinned from ear to ear. He was on the right path.

The boy started walking with more pep in his step. He was close and that was all he needed to know. Water was the most important thing in surviving the games. Once he found it, he would go from most likely to die to the most threatening tribute in the games. He was so close he could practically taste it. The trees and plants even looked greener. Hell, he thought he could even hear it. He could.

Nate's eyes grew wide in relief as he raced towards the source of running water bounding through the hills. He quickly jumped into the air and squealed like a little boy the moment the water was in sight. It wasn't a dangerous lake or pond where he would have to look for underwater predators. It was a stream. It was a wonderful, magnificent, gushing, moving, bubbling, beautiful stream. The boy quickly looked around for predators and then immediately got to work filling his water bottle. He dropped in the required amount of iodine and proceeded to smother his pack in mud while he waited. He gently sipped his water after the half hour was up and felt like a king. He found water. He found the only thing in the world he needed to survive the games. He was now the force to be reckoned with.

Now all he needed was food and a good night's rest. The boy looked up and thought about how far away from the stream he wanted to be. He quickly filled his water bottle again and decided he would take a chance by staying only a few feet away. It was safest to keep the stream in sight. Game would travel around it and he would always be near a water source. The tribute quickly set a trap nearby and hid his tracks very carefully. He pulled up towards the tree he decided to sleep in and began to climb. He quickly went to work on securing himself and the sleeping bag to the tree and waited. He carefully ate the dried fruit and took careful sips of his water. The sun was setting on the first day and the music of the games began.

Nate stared up at the sky in interest. The music stopped and the Capitol crest went up. It was time for the first few flashes of the dead to appear for all to see. The girl from District Five was the first image to appear on the screen. That meant none of the tributes in the first four districts died. Sophie, James and Marcus were still available to wreak havoc on his plans. Both tributes from District Six didn't make it through the blood bath of the day. Neither did the boy from District Seven and the girl from District Eight. District Nine lost both of their tributes today as well. And the little girl from District Eleven appeared in the sky. The Capitol crest flashed again and stars filled the sky. Eight, only eight tributes had died on the first day and Maggie was not one of them. His ally was still alive. That was all he needed to know. Tomorrow he would search for her. Tonight he would sleep.

%

Maggie carefully watched the Careers from her hiding spot in the trees. Nobody could see her and that was why she had chosen it. She was high up in the trees well beyond where any of them could touch her, though she was certain Sophie had noticed her at least once during the day.

After the initial blood bath, the troupe of Careers had immediately set to work on setting traps and protecting their food. The girl from District Three was smart enough to dig up the mines used to keep the tributes from getting a head start. She had used this to convince the Careers to let her in their alliance. They did and immediately set to work on helping her organize the proper way to make the bombs hidden. They then worked on setting up camp and were just waiting until the sun rose again to finish with their bomb contraptions.

Maggie smiled at their little plan. It would only work for so long before they screwed up. Besides, the girl knew exactly where everything was and she had plans. She had originally tried to steal the arrows at the Cornucopia but Sophie had been faster than she expected. Maggie had to run into the woods and settle for the supplies and knives she had. The group of Careers and other poor saps helping them had no idea she had hidden so close to the lake. Sophie, James and Marcus had left with a couple of their pawns for a small hunting party. They wouldn't be back for a while so Maggie was free to observe the proceedings for as long as she wanted. James and Marcus had both already started fighting over Sophie just like Nate had planned. Unfortunately Sophie intervened by explaining her plan for getting rid of Nate. They listened and decided baiting him would be more interesting than deciding who would get Sophie. Maggie sighed at the strategy. She had really hoped Sophie was going to join them instead. Oh well, Maggie was going to do everything in her power to keep Nate alive. She had a plan.

It was the perfect plan. She was going to steal food off of them while she waited for Nate. Then Nate would come and lead her to the other source of water. They would hunt game and gather some plants and not have to worry about the other tributes for a while. She just needed to get his arrows.

Now where did Sophie put them?

%

Nate awoke at dawn to a canon firing off. He opened his eyes and twisted around to see if the death happened anywhere near him. There were no people nearby and no signs of life anywhere. The boy sighed in relief and started to observe his tree high surroundings. The twig he had used to alert him of his trap was gone. The boy smiled at this news. He was hoping for some breakfast. He quickly gathered his things and untied himself from the tree. He put his sleeping bag into the pack and waited. He saw no signs of life around him and quickly climbed down his camping spot. He quietly walked towards the trap in hope for a rabbit.

There was a body swinging in the trees exactly where Nate had set his trap. The boy held back a gasp as he took note of the figure he had killed. It was the boy from District Five circling around the tree. His eyes were blessedly shut but there was no mistaking that he was dead. The trap snapped his neck.

Nate stared at the body and allowed his mind to think of how it happened. The trap was meant for a rabbit or other portion of small game. Even if the boy had stepped on the trap it shouldn't have killed him. It would have snapped his ankle, sure but it wouldn't have killed him. So why was the boy swinging lifeless on the rope. The answer came to Nate far too quickly than it should have. The boy from District Five had fallen into the trap. The ground near it had many rocks and the leaves showed signs of a slip. The boy from District Five had been walking through the woods without being careful where he stepped. He was doomed the moment he started walking from wherever it was he had been. It wasn't really Nate's fault the boy had expired. If anything, he would have died a slower and much more painful death. At least this one was fast.

Nate cut the boy down from his trap and gently placed him on the ground. All sounds of birdlife stopped and a hovercraft appeared in the sky. The boy from District Twelve waved towards the peacekeepers and quickly made his escape. Nobody needed to know that he took the boy's pack.

%

Nate wandered around the forest in search of his ally. His stomach growled and rumbled in distress and the boy immediately moved behind a tree to keep a cover in case somebody heard it. In the other tribute's pack he had found some biscuits that he immediately ate for breakfast, and that was a good six hours ago. He found another windbreaker and an extra sleeping bag in there too. The other tribute's pack had been a mixture of greens, blacks, and greys to begin with so the boy from District Twelve traded out his stuff and placed them in the better camouflaged one. He even had an extra knife. But food was becoming the most important thought of the day. If he was going to survive in the game much longer he needed to find a weapon to hunt food. He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was frightened of setting another trap. The District Five boy's death was an accident but it was his trap that did most of the work. Nate didn't want to set anymore unless they were absolutely necessary, and he had his bow and arrows.

A loud snap of a few twigs alerted the boy to more people. Nate immediately looked around for a tree big enough for him and climbed it. He was sitting comfortably on the branch of an oak when the source of noise appeared. It was a small hunting party composed of four Careers and the one remaining tribute of District Eight. Sophie was among them.

Nate watched in amusement as they all quickly organized themselves into a nice little camp. They had plenty of weapons for skewering unsuspecting tributes and enough food to last their campaign a few days. Marcus and James were working on building a fire. Well, they were arguing about building a fire, neither one of them actually seemed inclined on actually doing it. They were too busy trying to be the better man in Sophie's eyes and that was his doing. Sophie wouldn't be able to control both of them when one was always going after the other. The boy from District Twelve had to clap his hands over his mouth to keep from laughing at their squabbles. The boys from District Two and Eight were busy keeping guard. Sophie was ignoring the squabbling alpha males and walking around in search of something. She paused for a moment around where Nate had only just gotten rid of his tracks. She looked around and dropped to her knees for closer inspection. She shrugged and moved behind a tree close by. She must have needed a bathroom break. She was the only girl in their hunting party after all. That was probably to ensure her safety too. If anything that would have gone against Sophie's plan. She would be more effective at the camp where she could do the most damage. Nate turned away from where she disappeared to and watched her allies closely. The fire was finally started and the guards were getting restless. They all looked like they couldn't stand each other's presence, but the moment Sophie came back into the clearing they were all smiles instead of the merciless growls from before.

Nate stared at the beautiful girl from District One in surprise. He had never expected this kind of twist. She was good. She was very good. She had managed to successfully fool most of the male tributes for the other districts into trusting her. She might have even got some of the females. The young man from District Twelve chuckled at this new information. He was right about his greatest opponent from the get go. Now was his chance to be rid of her once and for all.

"Boys," Sophie chimed towards the small group with just the right touch of worry in her voice, "I think I heard something in the woods not too far from here. Could one of you be a dear and check it out?"

There was a tiny argument over who should go and Nate rolled his eyes. They were tripping over each other to help her and had no idea just what kind of danger they were in. Marcus and the boys from District Two and Eight were finally chosen to check things out. Nate prepared his knife for the moment when the kill would be in position. The group of boys left the clearing and her fellow tribute from District One was the only person left with her. The knife began to rise into the air when an odd crack startled everybody both seen and unseen. The crack wasn't normal. That crack meant something was hunting.

Nate looked around his tree in the hopes of finding a way out. He wasn't going to take the chance that the thing hunting wasn't a muttation. Muttations, mutts as they were fondly called by most of the citizens of Panem, were known as being one of the game makers' favorite toys during the games. They were always vicious and did everything in their power kill off more tributes. The boy quickly looked towards the bottom of his tree for an escape. And that's when he saw it. The bow and arrows, his bow and arrows, were sitting just out of sight of camp. He distinctly remembered Sophie was the one who stole that away from the Cornucopia specifically to hinder him. Then it hit him. The flattered boys striving to help her were useless in the things she didn't know. They were targets. He was the ally.

Nate couldn't understand it. He was the one who caught onto her game and embarrassed her. He was the only one who saw through everything she was up to and challenged her on it. Why would she want him as an ally? It didn't make sense. But it did. He was the only one competing at her level. All the rest were too busy figuring out how to survive the first day while he and she were figuring out how to survive the whole thing. Even her fellow tribute was nothing compared to her. James was trained for battle but he wasn't trained for survival. Sophie was the first tribute in her district not replaced by a volunteer because they all wanted to see what she had spent her life doing. It was the perfect plan.

"Alright," Nate sighed at what he was about to do. "I guess we'll be allies." he somersaulted off the branch just in time. The beast on the prowl landed in the middle of the clearing just behind James. It was a mixture of a lynx and a bear. It probably had some other kinds of cat in it but those were the dominant features. The guy from district one had no idea what was behind him. Obviously the girl knew what she was doing when she chose her ally.

"Hey!" Nate called out at the top of his voice while he rolled over his bow and arrows to pick them up. "Want to play with me instead?"

"What?" James turned around to attack the other tribute when he finally took notice of the big animal behind him. "Damn!"

"Follow me!" Nate proposed with a quick arrow whizzing towards the creature's hide. The arrow bounced off as if the thing was made of rubber. That was new, but it got the creature's attention. It was now heading straight for the guy with the arrows. Me and my big mouth, Nate thought in anger as he started zipping through the woods with the mutt skipping behind. It was playing with him, great.

"Hey, big guy!" Sophie hollered from up above. How did she even get up there? "Having fun?"

"Any time now, Sophie!" Nate called back as he picked up pace just a little bit more.

"Boo!" Sophie retorted as she quickly leapt onto the creatures back and used her knife to kindly slip its head off. She lightly used its tumbling dead weight as a graceful way to the ground. She looked like a ballerina successfully completing the last scene of a big number. "I see you got my message."

"Stealing the bow and arrows was a nice touch," Nate nodded at the comment.

"Let's make it official," Sophie extended her hand with a charming smile they both knew wouldn't work. "Allies, then?"

"Allies," Nate agreed with a gruff squeeze of her hand. They both knew he would win if she betrayed him any time soon. It was the best strategy they could make at this stage of the games.

%

**A/N II:** _What I said about standing ponds is actually true. If you see a pond of standing water that looks black and has no tributary streams or bubbles in it stay away. Dead ponds grow germs and cause you to vomit and other nasty things. Too much of it can kill you but if you are suffering from heat exhaustion it is safe to use as a cooling agent on your skin. Even with Iodine its deadly so use as little as possible and don't drink. Believe it or not this information made me freak out when Katniss fell into a pond after she burnt her leg. I was all, "Oh crap she's in a standing pond and she's going to get sick and die that way!" I was very happy she didn't._


	7. Get Maggie

**A/N:** _Woo-hoo! We are getting close to the drama now! Alliances shall be made and people will die. Yep, sounds like the hunger games to me!_

%

"So, ally," Sophie smiled at the District Twelve tribute, "What's next on the agenda?"

"Find Maggie and then get to the stream I found," Nate answered with a shrug. He was busy trying to decide which way to go. The mutt had chased them further away from his safety net than he thought.

"Oh, that's easy," Sophie sighed in relief. She didn't seem to care about the fact that he was paying more attention to the tracks than her. In fact, her voice sounded relieved by the lack of attention. Nate took note of the tone and filed it for later. He didn't want to know if that was a bad sign or a good sign at the moment.

"She's waiting for you by the Career camp."

Well that was great. That actually went against Nate's plan completely. His plan was to avoid the Careers at all costs. Yes, he already broke that plan but he didn't want to do that again. Besides, Sophie's plan sort of changed his plan considering she was counted among the Careers until about five seconds ago. Leave it to Maggie to throw him through another loop. Nate grimaced at his choices in allies and located the stream. Now, all they had to do was get Maggie.

"Let's go to the Career's camp."

Sophie smiled, nodded and immediately started showing him the way. Nate tried his best to ignore the fact that she was practically skipping. He did not want to know what was going on in her head. It was too frightening to believe.

%

"So be careful of the booby traps because there should be a lot of them sometime soon," Sophie explained quickly enough.

Nate stared at her. They had been traveling for at least half an hour and she hadn't so much as said a word about the camp they were heading towards. In fact, all she said was something about how the plants here were perfect for something like stew. He hoped she said stew. He didn't want a crazy for an ally. Sure he could deal with it, but he didn't want to. So the question was: why didn't she mention the camp was booby trapped?

"What?"

"Yeah, the camp has booby traps to prevent the rest of us from stealing the food." Sophie turned around and placed her hands on her hips. She looked impatient. Why was she so impatient? What did he say?

"Why didn't you mention this before?" He demanded back. He was really unhappy with the fact that she hid information from him. Allies don't hide important information from allies. Of course he was angry that she hid the fact that he could die just stealing his ally back.

"I didn't think it was important at the time," Sophie shrugged. She puckered her lips a bit and tapped her foot. She was getting frustrated with him?

"You didn't think it was important to mention that our ally was near a camp that would be booby trapped when we got there to rescue her?" Nate had to stop himself from strangling his new ally.

"Well when you put it that way I just sound cruel," Sophie giggled. She wasn't frustrated with him anymore apparently. She seemed much more interested in aggravating him beyond belief. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it.

"What kind of booby traps?" Nate thought it was safest to just ignore her humor. He didn't want to kill her and regret it later.

"Traps very similar to the ones we learned in training," Sophie took a moment to pause in deep thought, "One of them decided to use one of the spears and hide them in the trees so it will collapse through you if you trip a wire."

"So just your usual games' fun?"

Sophie nodded. Nate sighed in relief. At least they were dealing with unoriginal material. Anything new would stick out like a sore thumb.

"So are we going to get Maggie or just stand here and discuss it?"

Nate glared at the girl. She giggled again and nodded. "That's what I thought," she said. She twirled around and started leading the way towards their ally.

Nate fought off the urge to shoot her with his precious arrows. She could come in handy. He needed to wait a few more minutes before he did anything rash. There was more to her than met the eye and he needed to know it if he was going to win. He needed to figure out what to do with her really.

"Don't go that way," Sophie ordered softly. She pulled on his left arm and led him through the big tree roots he was trying to avoid.

"Why?" Nate asked. It was easier than yelling at her for making things difficult.

"Remember that trap with the spear?" She asked. She kept talking and didn't even look up from where they were going.

Nate looked up and immediately noticed the spear hidden in the trees. It was camouflaged pretty well considering he didn't find it immediately. The only real sign that it was a spear at all was the pointy silver thing at the end. Most people would just continue on without giving it a second thought. Squirrels sometimes brought rocks up into the trees to crack their nuts.

"Are we already at the camp?"

"Almost," she said. She quickly pushed him to the right and he obeyed her instructions. He noticed a string tied to the tree specifically so it could only be seen one way.

"We'll be there in about fifteen minutes," she said.

She was right. There was a sparkle of water through the trees and then there was a circle of trees. The Cornucopia was in the center by the lake. The camp stretched out towards the forest and stopped at the end of the little clearing. The Careers were each camped out near a tree and enjoying a nice warm fire. They were unaware of their unwelcome guests. That was good. The pair slowly moved within hearing distance of the camp. They crouched low behind a bush and discussed tactics.

"Let's go this way," Sophie suggested quietly, "They'll never even know we were here."

"She's in the trees," Nate pointed up to reveal Maggie's hideout without revealing it.

"Oh," Sophie's eyes grew wide in understanding as she spotted the District Twelve girl camped out in the tree directly above the Careers' camp. "That's almost exactly where you were hiding when the mutt came into that clearing the other day. You were going to kill me, weren't you?"

"Yeah then I figured out the rest of your plan," Nate huffed towards her quietly. "It's a good thing I did too because you came in handy more than once already."

"What took you so long to take the shot?" Sophie pointed out with a smirk. Apparently she figured out just how long it took him to fail at that.

"I don't know what took me so long," Nate admitted slowly. "It doesn't matter because we've got to get Maggie out of there."

"Want me to try?" Sophie suggested bravely.

"No, I want you to…" Nate stared at the district one tribute's audacity in surprise. The girl just waltzed on into the camp as if nothing unusual were about to happen. "The hell?"

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Sophie calmly announced her presence with a gentle wave of her hand and a polite smile. "Could you help a girl out?"

"Where have you been, Sophie?" James demanded of the tribute in worried relief. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Well," Sophie took a careful look back towards the trees opposite Nate with wide eyes, "I'm the distraction."

"What do you mean?" James asked with a weary look around the camp.

"The tribute from one of the other districts," Sophie gulped in a barely there whisper. "They tried to kill me but I was smart enough to say that I had something worthwhile here at camp if they spared me."

"Which way," James nodded as he caressed her cheek in a very loving way. Nate ignored the fact that he wanted to vomit at the gentle nature of the savage boy in the circle. It was so obvious that he was trying to use Sophie to win the games. Pathetic!

"Nate!" a quiet voice whimpered from above. The boy looked up to see his fellow tribute had succeeded in getting out of the tight spot. "What's going on?"

"Sophie's our ally," Nate answered back just as softly. "She's the distraction."

"Oh," Maggie nodded with a gentle plop beside him. "Well, our distraction is about to get a knife in her back from the boy from district three hiding behind the tree."

Nate's attention immediately found the threat and took him out with a quick zip of his arrow. He and Maggie quickly moved out of the way as a spear came to the exact spot Nate once was. The boy's cannon fired off at the same time. Nathan huffed in anger at that. He accidentally gave away his position to save his ally. Hopefully, it was a risk that would pan out.

"How many?" James whispered just a little too loudly.

"I'll tell you in a minute," Sophie promised with a quick look directed towards the other tributes in the circle. The boy from district four looked like he was trying to decide if he could squeeze in a few minutes alone with her.

"They finished the bombs," Maggie informed her ally immediately. She wasn't sure if they were going to say anything to Sophie or not.

"Bombs?"

"Yeah, Nate, bombs," Maggie rolled her eyes, "They just finished rewiring the bombs the Capitol uses to keep us from getting a head start. They're going to plant them tomorrow like little mines.

"It's an arrow," the girl from District Two informed the group. Nate tried to figure what her name was. He was drawing a blank.

"You lost the arrows?" James gasped at his fellow tribute's idiocy.

"Well they did attack me from behind," Sophie glowered towards them, "I couldn't exactly take them back. We're lucky they're greedy enough to bring me back."

"They attacked their ally," District Two girl explained, "That must mean they've changed tactics."

"Alright, everybody span out and make sure," James ordered. He pointed towards the three minions of the pack, "Protect this area with your life and make sure you have those mines ready. We're planting them as soon as we get back.

"Sophie and I will retrace her steps to see if they left anything behind," Marcus volunteered.

James' eyes grew into slits at the suggestion. Unfortunately, he was not in a position where he could argue. He nodded his head and sourly started ordering the other tributes around.

"We'll wait until they are out of earshot to strike," Nate whispered to Maggie. He then pointed up to the trees and Maggie smiled. She knew exactly what to do.

The two Careers traveled through the woods in silence. Sophie was carefully looking for a way to get out of her current situation. Marcus was kindly admiring the girl's figure. Nate and Maggie were following in their respective places. Sophie bent down to check out a plant and Marcus enjoyed the view of her bending down. Maggie rolled her eyes and waited for the signal. Nate took a moment to roll his eyes and regret what he said at the interview.

"Sophie," Marcus moved to her side into an uncomfortably close proximity. He looked around and grinned that they were far enough away from camp to talk. "Can we have a moment?"

"Sure," Sophie agreed with a smile. She kept her eyes peeled for any possible enemies and looked up to send a prayer of help. Instead Maggie waved.

"Got ya," Maggie whispered to herself from up above. She was directly over Marcus' head.

"About what the boy from District Twelve said the night of the interview," Marcus began.

"Hey!" Nate pointed his arrow at Marcus. Maggie dropped down.

Marcus was out instantly and Maggie took advantage of the moment. She grabbed Sophie's hand and started running. Nate followed suit immediately afterwards to make certain they weren't being followed. The trio ran for the hills at top speed until they were certain they were safe. Maggie stopped to gather up some water at the stream they found.

"When did this happen?" Maggie questioned quietly. She was pouring iodine into her canteen to make certain it would be safe for drinking.

"When Sophie stole my arrows," Nate fired back as he did the exact same thing with his water.

"Technically it happened when Nate decided not to kill me," Sophie bit back as she took a swig from her still filled water bottle.

"They're going to find Marcus soon," Maggie explained with a quick look upwards to get her bearings. "We should work on finding a spot to camp that's as far away from them as possible.

"Good idea," Sophie agreed after she quickly refilled her canteen and purified it. "That way we can take some time hunting and gathering up edible plants."

"How many plants do you think there are here?" Nate questioned the expert in interest.

"Enough to keep us alive if you come back empty handed from the hunt," Sophie responded as she started making her way down river.

"No!" Maggie grabbed the tribute from district one and shook her head, "We go North!"

"But there's more water South," Sophie responded in confusion. "That means more game."

"More game," Nate agreed with a nod, "And more hunting. North means more plants and a better chance of survival."

"And cleaner water supply," Maggie nodded as she started directing their ally upstream.

"Okay," Sophie shrugged as she was sandwiched in between the two tributes of district twelve.

They traveled North for a matter of a few minutes before the loud crunching became too much. Nate whipped his head around and glared at the District One girl.

"What?" She asked.

Nate rolled his eyes and shook his head. "There's no need to sound like a herd of elephants stampeding through the woods. I know you know how to walk through here silently and I would appreciate it if you would do so."

"I am walking silently," Sophie argued.

"No, you're making a lot of noise."

"I haven't made any noise since this game began. Even when I'm home I don't make noise. It's one of my rules."

"Then why are you breaking it?"

"I'm not breaking it."

"Yes, you are!"

"NO, I'm not!"

Maggie watched the two of them trading verbal blows and decided to interrupt their little fight for a moment. "Umm, guys?"

"Yes, you are!"

"You sound like a child!"

"I am a child! That's the whole point of the games, to slaughter children! Yeah, I am a child! Glad we established that one!"

"Just because you are doesn't mean you have to act like it!"

"Umm, guys?" Maggie's soft voice rose higher to be heard among the quarreling couple.

"I'm pretty certain it does because that is what the game makers and the rest of the Capitol are looking for!"

"Guys?" Maggie grunted at her fellow tribute's response.

"Maybe you should stop alienating any possible sponsors and act like you're actually going to win this game!"

"You mean like you and forgetting to mention the whole bomb thing?"

"I knew the bombs weren't going to be planted when we got there. I would have informed you about them if they were!"

"Guys!" Maggie shouted at the pair in disbelief.

They both turned their glares on her and stared. If they were standing side by side they would probably be elbowing and poking each other like children. They both were most definitely pouting like them. Maggie rolled her eyes at their behavior and kindly pointed up the stream.

"We better get going before the Careers find us and seek revenge," she growled, "If you two are done with this whole arguing thing then we can continue and get a really good head start before dusk. but you know, we could always just stay here and let them find us and kill us and lose the game. It's no big deal."

Nate and Sophie's glares grew darker at her statement. They turned towards each other and rolled their eyes. Sophie stuck out her hand and Nate shook it. They were going to be compliant again.

"Good," Maggie beamed at the pair, "Let's go."

Maggie noisily led the way North. Her stomping feet caused nothing but sound to be heard for possible miles. She was clearly unused to being quiet at home. Her feet were going to scare away all the game. Hunting was going to be something Nate would do alone.

"I told you it wasn't me," Sophie said. She wacked him on the arm with her hand to make certain he understood his mistake.

"You could have said it was Maggie."

"I didn't know it was Maggie!" Sophie's voice was a squeal of anger. She was practically at dog whistle level. "Don't you think I would have told you if I thought it was Maggie?"

"Well who else could it have been? You knew it wasn't me."

"I thought it was an animal. You have to admit that she sounds like a stampede."

"And you weren't going to actually tell us about the possible animal coming our way?"

"Well it's pretty obvious that you heard it!"

"OH good lord!"

Maggie rolled her eyes at the frivolous banter going on behind her. She could tell simply by the way they were arguing that they were going to be a handful. It was a good thing she had joined them. The two probably would have killed themselves by now.

%

They found themselves a camp an hour before dusk fell. They had decided to stay on the ground tonight in case they needed to make a quick run for their lives. Plus, they would be able to move out a few seconds sooner than if they had stayed in a tree. The three unpacked their bags and shared what they had. Nate handed Maggie over the extra sleeping bag he had and Maggie had some biscuits she had stolen from the District Three boy before he died. Sophie handed out a couple cans of the food she had. It was mostly a soup that had been on the train while they were there. She even handed out some pink berries. Nate held up the worst sunglasses in the world and Sophie immediately snatched them away. She stroked the sunglasses lovingly and Nate scowled.

"You had these the whole time and didn't say anything?" She looked appalled at the idea of it. She was also cradling them close to her chest as if they were the difference between survival and death.

"They suck," Nate shrugged. Maggie seemed just as confused by the District One girl's statement.

Sophie just rolled her eyes and explained. "They aren't meant to be worn in the sun. They're what we call night-goggles in my district. They make it so you can see where you are going at night as easily as if it were day. This would have made Maggie's rescue a lot easier if you told me about them, Nate."

"I didn't know," Nate admitted in confusion. He quickly snatched the glasses away from the other tribute and looked at them. They looked like ordinary sunglasses.

"Well now you do," Sophie smiled at his statement. It was hard to tell if that was satisfaction that she taught him something or satisfaction that he didn't know something. Either way it made his blood boil.

"It will come in handy if you need to do any emergency hunting, Nate," Maggie smiled softly. Her smile was full of warmth and faith. It made Nate smile and feel like a hero. Then he scowled at Sophie. All she ever did was make him feel like he was playing a giant game of chess, and he was losing.

The air began to fill with the music of the games. The Capitol crest appeared and the images of the dead started to play. Well, if you could call the images of the boy from District Three and the boy from District Five images. To Nate they were victims, his victims. To the game makers they were just moments of entertainment. Then the Capitol crest reappeared and the sky went back to stars.

"Time to get some sleep," Maggie announced simply. She immediately curled up into her sleeping bag. She was snoring softly within minutes. There was no doubt that the girl was almost too quick to trust.

Nate grimaced at the snoring figure and turned his gaze on the brunette. Sophie smiled and waved at him, but showed no signs of getting to sleep anytime soon. Like him, she was waiting. They were waiting for the other to fall asleep. The boy from District Twelve shrugged and carefully plopped himself into his sleeping bag. The night air was already getting cold. Who knew how low the temperature could get at the hands of the game makers tonight? They needed to sleep while they could. Fans in the Capitol were going to get bored soon.

A soft rustling from nearby informed Nate of Sophie's whereabouts. She had decided to curl up into her sleeping bag and sleep. Nate closed his eyes and willed sleep to take him. It wouldn't though. Not while he still had the possibility of dying. He couldn't sleep as long as Sophie was still awake.

%

Sophie moved towards the sleeping form of the male District Twelve tribute. It had taken hours but he had finally fallen prey to his exhaustion. She knew the plan. If she killed him, she would win the games. The rest of the Careers were already in her hands. All she had to do was kill off the tributes of District Twelve and she would be home free. The girl from District One raised her knife ready to drive it into the boy's heart.

She stopped.

There was no noise coming from anywhere except the sleeping figures, but she stopped. Something was telling her not to kill her allies now. Something inside of her was telling her to protect them at all costs. After all, how many times had she watched the games and see people do the same thing she was about to? How many times did they end up dying because they were all alone? How many times did she despise them for betraying people kind enough to think them worthy of being their friends in the war zone? How many times did she cry for the life that didn't deserve to die without the chance to fight for the right to live? How many times would she hate herself for winning if she did this to them?

Sophie moved away from the boy that would have been her victim. No, she would not do what the game makers wanted her to. She would not betray her allies. She would be more than that. She would help them win. It was the only way to show the Capitol what they were made of. She would be loyal to her last breath. Hopefully they would return the favor.

%

Nate listened to the retreating form of his would-be-assassin. He sighed in relief the moment he heard her return to the warmth of her sleeping bag. Sophie decided to keep her allegiance. That was a good thing. He just hoped he wouldn't have to kill Maggie. It was a sad thought, but Nathan Ford was praying to whomever would listen that he had to face Sophie Devereaux in the finally two. He didn't want to think about anything else.


	8. Fire!

**A/N:** _The Game Makers got bored! At least that's what writer brain says, and what writer brain says goes. As for the paper: I have the outline and it is due Friday. I'm good. But why won't anyone review Leverage: The Fairy Tale?  
><em>

%%%%%

Nate awoke to a popping sound and the smell of fire. He sat up and immediately jumped out of his sleeping bag. Sophie was awake too. She somehow already had all of her things packed up and was working on waking Maggie. Nate followed suit and packed up his gear. Maggie groggily got out of bed and started packing. Another pop erupted from nearby and the red-orange glow of fire became visible. Maggie's eyes grew wide and they ran.

Another popping sound came from directly behind them. Nate looked back and saw their camp explode into fire.

"Run!" He called out at the top of his lungs.

"What do you think we're doing?" Sophie screeched towards him with venom.

Nate decided to ignore her angry reply so he could fuel all his energy on running. He could feel the suffocating heat of the fire at his back and the thick black smoke was doing everything in its power to curl into their lungs. There were more important things to do than to engage in a battle of wits with Sophie Devereaux. Instead he just silently hoped she would trip on a rock and fall victim to the flames. It was a very encouraging thought.

The trio rushed through the woods as fast as they could. They were racing the stags, squirrels and mutts for survival. Everything was being scorched. The trees would crack into flames and birds would appear out of nowhere and take flight. Rocks were popping up from the ground in hopes of tripping whomever they could. The game makers must have been highly bored by the lack of deaths. The lives of two boys weren't enough for their blood thirsty souls. They wanted more. They always wanted more.

Nate looked back for a minute to see what was going on. Sophie was easily racing beside him but Maggie was quickly falling behind. The flames were licking at her feet and biding their time. She wasn't used to running. Eventually her energy would give out and the flames would soon catch up.

The brunette girl took note of this and did something highly unusual. She stopped. She stopped her running long enough to grab the blonde by the arms and hoist her away from the flames with a solid jerk. It wasn't enough though. A small strand of light followed the blonde as she spun towards the front. Maggie screamed in pain and fear. Her pants were on fire. In fact her entire left leg was now emitting red-orange flames. Then Sophie pushed her down.

Nate pulled out his knife with anger coursing through his veins. Sophie was not going to kill Maggie on his watch. Sophie didn't seem to care about what he was doing though. She quickly rolled the blonde girl down the nearby hill and was quickly following suit. Maggie was no longer on fire.

Nate sheathed his knife and quickly worked his way towards the pair to help the blonde to her feet. He grabbed both of their arms and ran. He led them around whatever path he could find as fast as he could. The smoke was thick and choking but he kept running. He could feel the girls losing energy fast. His eyes were watering from the smoke pouring into his lungs. He didn't stop. He refused to stop. He just kept running and dragged the girls behind him. He wasn't going to stop until he was certain they were safe. He kept running and then fell to his right.

The boy from District Twelve looked tilted his head to what used to be up and stared at the mass of hair. Sophie was still attached to his right arm but Maggie wasn't. She was lying on top of the girl from District One with her eyes closed tight. She was puffing smoke and her chest was still moving, but she was definitely out.

The soft cracking of the trees and the flames echoed throughout the forest and the smoke billowed into their lungs more and more. The flickering shadows of Death were dancing closer and closer to them. Soon they were going to join the mass of tributes fallen within the arena never to return. Nate closed his eyes and waited. He had failed Parker.

A leathery wet thing cuffed him around the mouth and nose suddenly. Nate opened his eyes and immediately felt air in his lungs. He lifted his head and saw nothing but dark brown eyes. Sophie was staring back at him with a big, green leaf covering her face all the way up to her eyes. Maggie was leaning against her with a plant of her own.

"Plants give off oxygen," Sophie explained with a simple shrug. She probably didn't realize what she just gave him with her green gift. "I figured these would at least give us enough clean air to make it out of smoke range. The fires seem to stop at the top of the hill."

Nate barely understood what she was saying. He was so filled with joy that they might make it out he didn't know what to do. He just nodded his head and quickly rose to his feet. He nudged Maggie with his shoulder and sighed at the blue-grey eyes staring back at him. He grabbed the baker's daughter in his arms and quickly began running again. Sophie was back beside him in an instant. She was running with him and kept her eyes peeled for danger. The game keepers were done with their fiery fun. Safety was now the tributes' only concern.

%

It took some hunting but they finally found a place that was free of smoke enough for them to breathe. Their leaf masks were removed long before then because they stopped working through the thick smoke and stuff. Nate delicately placed Maggie on the ground and used her pack to keep her head elevated. Then Sophie immediately removed her own bag and started sorting through it.

"What are you doing?" Nate asked. He was still a little sketchy after last night's close encounter. He had time during their search for clean air to recall that little dilemma. He didn't want a repeat performance.

Sophie didn't even look up from her bag. She just kept searching around in it for whatever it was she needed. She yelped in joy and pulled out a long green leaf that looked very similar to the ones they had used as masks. She immediately started pulling it apart and sucking on it.

"You're not going to put that on her burn are you?" Nate couldn't help the outrage in his own voice. That was just disgusting. Plus it could easily infect Maggie's leg and make it worse. There was absolutely no way on Earth he was going to allow her to do that.

"Human saliva helps fight off infection," Sophie responded. She even rolled her eyes. She delicately placed each of the pieces on the burn and hissed in pain at the contact. Maggie groaned and closed her eyes.

"This is going to help heal that baby faster," Sophie continued to explain. Her features were gentle when she turned to face the other girl tribute in their group. She was currently massaging the plant into the burn and adding water at intervals. "It should also get rid of a lot of that pain you're going through."

"Mmm-hmmm," Maggie nodded. She kept her eyes closed tight but Nate could tell she was feeling relief. Her smile was back.

"Good," Sophie purred, "I've got a few more of these in my bag for later. Right now we're going to wait until the pain starts to return before we reapply. I don't know if I'll be able to find any more for a while. The place I had found them before was near our camp. They're probably burnt to a crisp."

"If we're lucky," Nate said, "Haymitch might even find a sponsor willing to buy you some salve, Mags."

"Mags?" Sophie asked.

Nate shrugged, "I remember hearing somebody calling her that once. I figured it would be nice to hear a nickname from home. It might bring about some good memories. You know something nice to remember about the people back home."

"No," Sophie sad with an unreadable expression covering her features, "I don't."

They lapsed into silence after that. It wasn't exactly on purpose but it happened. Maggie was pretty out of it because of her burn and Nate didn't really feel like disturbing Sophie. She was doing everything in her power to take care of Maggie's wound. He was fine with staying quiet if it meant Maggie would be fine. He wanted Maggie to win if he couldn't.

"So what's this infamous Parker like?" Sophie questioned. She seemed to be done with what she was doing for the moment because she stopped and stared at him. Nate gulped.

"What do you want to know?"

Sophie shrugged and tilted her head to the left in thought. "Whatever you want to talk about is fine with me. Maggie's going to be out for a while and nobody's really around us right now. We're by a cliff and all. It's kind of hard to see us. We may even be able to roast our meals today."

Nate chuckled at her smile. The brunette was smiling at the idea of a warm meal and was kind enough to omit the word fire for Maggie's benefit. Yet, she was willing to kill them last night and was suddenly willing to help them this morning.

"Why didn't you kill me?"

Sophie froze at the question. She made no sign that she knew what he was talking about. Her eyes didn't even grow wide with fright or anything. She just froze and tilted her head to the left again. She was staring at him the whole time. She didn't even blink. It was creepy.

"Something in my gut told me you were worth keeping," she said.

That made Nate jump. He wasn't expecting an answer. Usually somebody wouldn't even admit to it. She just answered his question and acknowledged it in one foul swoop. It was like she wanted everyone to be aware that she was playing a game.

"Is that why you saved Maggie?" Nate paused as he thought about the best way to ask the rest of it, "Because your gut told you to push her over and roll her down a hill?"

"No, I saved Maggie because she was on fire," Sophie giggled. She seemed to think it was ridiculous for him to even suggest that.

Nate suddenly got a creepy feeling up his spine. It was the creepy feeling you would get when you were being watched. It was the same feeling he got whenever Parker was trying to surprise him from behind. The cameras must have been watching. It was time to give the sponsors a show. They needed something for Maggie's leg.

"So you wanted to know about Parker?" He asked. He even pulled his lips back to reveal his teeth just to make certain he was camera ready. He was going to put on a show alright.

"Yeah," Sophie nodded her head enthusiastically. Her eyes even sparkled at the gossip that was about to happen. She was aware of the cameras too.

"She's one of the rare blondes we have in the Seam," he explained, "Maggie is of course another one. Just so you are aware of how many there really are, let me give you a ball park. Out of all the people in the Seam there are five blondes total."

Sophie laughed and darted a quick look towards Maggie to make certain she didn't disturb her. She didn't. Maggie was sleeping like a log again.

"Five blondes total," she giggled softly.

"Yeah," Nate chuckled back, "Parker, Maggie, Maggie's parents, and some kid in Parker's class who likes to pick on her constantly."

"She must have her big brother Nate beating on him in return I bet," Sophie smiled at the image forming in her mind.

"She's not really my sister," Nate explained quickly. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea but he needed to clarify things too. "At least not biologically. I've kind of adopted her. She's my little buddy. That's all. We look out for each other when we need to. She's actually the one who taught me how to set traps for catching rabbits."

"Then why haven't you done that?" Sophie narrowed her eyes towards him. The glow in her eyes from before immediately evaporated and her fire returned. "We could be eating rabbits now and Maggie could use some food. Food's the best medicine there is."

Nate stared at her with wide eyes. He could feel the cameras pushing in on his face. He could practically see his image sprawled on screens throughout Panem in wait for his answer, baited breath and drool dripping from their mouths. They were all wondering what was going to come out of his mouth next.

"Oh," Sophie gasped before he could say anything. Her eyes grew wide for a fraction of a second and then concern appeared on her features as if by magic. She lowered her head and said, "I'm sorry."

"It's nothing," Nate waved it off without a second thought. It was partially true on some plane of existence, if not all of them. "The boy from District Five was just walking in the dark and fell into it. It was purely by chance that even managed it. Honestly, he would have suffered for a very long time if he hadn't fallen on my trap. If it was his ankle he would have been doomed to death anyway."

"At least it was quick then," Sophie added on helpfully. There was no judgment in her eyes when she looked at him. There was only sorrow and pity. It wasn't even the bad kind of pity. It was the kind of pity that suggested she knew where he was coming from. "At least he didn't suffer. I always hated how they would show tributes dying slow deaths. They were always the worst. Sometimes they would even allow it to go on for hours just to see how long it could go. Ooh, I can't stomach it just thinking about it."

Nate blinked. Sophie just insulted the Capitol and took the heat off of him all in one go. She even got him to open up about his family for a bit. Whatever her gut told her last night was a miracle worker. She was now doing everything in her power to help them out. He was going to take advantage of that for as long as he could.

"So do you only have Parker waiting for you back home?" She asked, "Or do you have a certain someone waiting for you to come back like the big bad hero you keep acting like?"

"Big bad hero, really?" Nate arched a brow at that phrase, "Just Parker and my dad. I'm not exactly a social person."

"Maggie seems to think you're somebody worth saving," Sophie said, "She did vouch for you during the interview. Maybe you're what they need to win the hunger games. You could be the champion everybody's waiting for."

Nate rolled his eyes and laughed at the very idea of it. Nobody except Parker and his father wanted him to win the games. Everybody else was just in it to see how far he could go. He wasn't somebody the town as a whole loved like Maggie. He was just the drunkard's son. Changing the subject was probably best.

"Eh," he said, "What about you? Anybody you have waiting for you to return as a victor of the games?"

Sophie's eyes grew a bit dark at the question. Nothing else on her face changed in the slightest. Her eyes just grew darker and that was it. That was all that needed to be done too probably.

"Oh the same old same old," she waved her hand and took a moment to study Maggie's face. "Looks like it's time for round two!"

The girl immediately started pulling apart another leaf and sucking on it. She carefully switched out the chunks in the burnt flesh and poured more water on it. The one leaf they had left sat there ominously. They needed that salve soon.

"Come on, Haymitch," Nate muttered under his breath.

Sophie looked up from what she was doing for a half a second. "Hmm?" she asked. Then she immediately went back to work fixing the blonde Seam girl's leg.

Nate startled a bit. "Nothing," he said.

He needed to figure out why their mentor wasn't sending anything their way. He said he would do his job if they did theirs. They were doing theirs. Sure, Maggie disobeyed but was that really a reason not to send her anything? She gave them some of the most valuable information she could. That had to at least earn something. What did he do wrong? Was Haymitch mad that they aligned themselves with Sophie? She was doing everything to help them now. Maggie was definitely getting better. What was he supposed to do?

"Are you alright?"

Nate jumped back in surprise and stared at his hand in shock. The brunette girl was staring at the knife he had drawn. She wasn't surprised by it in the least. She even looked a little disappointed. It was rubbing a nice red mark into her skin but she wasn't complaining. She lifted her eyes up from the knife at her neck and looked into his eyes. Nate gulped at the calm acceptance there. He pulled his knife away and flinched at the angry red mark on her skin.

"Sorry," he said, "You snuck up on me. I didn't even know I could do that."

"Well," she smiled back at him with understanding in her eyes, "I did sneak up on you."

Nate chuckled at that if only to relieve some of the tension of the moment. He pulled his knife on his ally and nearly sliced her throat. Okay, she did try to kill him so it made sense. What didn't make sense was the fact that that was his first instinct. He'd never done that before.

"You want to talk about it?" she asked. She didn't even seem perturbed by the fact that her neck was scratched.

Nate nodded towards the offending red area. "We should take care of that."

Sophie shook her head. "Can't," she said, "This is the only leaf we have and Maggie needs it more. If you're nice maybe your mentor will find a sponsor to send her some balm. I would feel much better if they did at least."

"Then you could treat your wound," Nate pointed out. His smile was of genuine relief. She wasn't angry with him for acting instinctually. That was good.

"Then Maggie would be able to walk without pain," Sophie countered. Her eyebrows narrowed towards him in confusion. Her head tilted to the left and she just kept staring.

"What?" he asked. Her staring was getting on his nerves. It was like she could see into his soul or something.

"I'm hungry," she said. Her head was still tilted to the left though. She wasn't saying everything that was on her mind. Maybe that was what Haymitch wanted. Maybe he wanted her to reveal something so they could get the balm for Maggie. Maybe that was the goal.

"What's your favorite thing in the world to eat?" He asked. It was the best he could come up with at short notice. He wasn't exactly sure how to talk to people anymore. That was Adrianne's territory.

Sophie's head went straight up and down immediately. She stared at him contemplatively for thirty seconds and then answered. "Whatever you catch," she said.

Nate stared at her in confusion. Was she for real? He just asked her for her favorite food and her response was whatever you catch. What was up with that?

"I'm not a very picky eater," she clarified. She could apparently read him well enough to know he was confused. That was good. She was at least human.

"Well," Nate plopped down in front of her and stared her straight in the eyes. He ignored the funny look she was giving him and continued. "If you could choose the one thing on the planet to eat whenever you wanted and didn't have to worry about anything other than your own happiness, what would it be?"

Sophie stared at him with furrowed brows. Her eyes flickered from him to the sleeping blond beside her. Brown orbs fell back on blue eyes and a decision seemed to be made.

"Drop biscuits," Sophie said with a nod.

Nate gaped at her reply. "Drop biscuits?" He asked.

"Drop biscuits," Sophie nodded. She smiled at the idea of the warm breads and then blinked. She stared back at him in confusion.

"The one food in the world you love most is a drop biscuit?" Nate asked just to be sure.

Sophie just nodded her head and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She didn't seem to understand what was so hard to believe about her favorite food. She didn't seem to see what was wrong with it.

"Well, I can't get you those," Nate sighed at the fact, "but I can get you a nice rabbit if you're patient."

"I have to gather plants anyway," Sophie said. The girl stood up and started lifting up her bag. She smiled widely at his confusion and stopped. "Whistle when she looks like she's still experiencing pain or that balm has been delivered. I'm going to make certain we have enough medicinal supplies for later. You should probably set a trap or two to collect some meat. The plants aren't going to last us very long in this heat."

Nate blinked and she was gone. How about that? He volunteered to get food and the girl just hopped off without a backwards glance. That was weird.

Nate stared in the direction he felt the cameras were. He shrugged towards it and sighed. "At least I know what her favorite food is. That's a bonus, right?"

As if in reply a parachute appeared from above. It slithered down with a soft clunk as it hit a rock. It was the balm they were hoping for. Nate had been right. Haymitch wanted Nate to learn things about Sophie. He could do that.

The boy from District Twelve immediately looked up and realized his ally hadn't seen the package delivered. He got his arrows ready and whistled out the first tune that came to mind. It was a simple tune really. It was just four notes he heard during a game long ago. The tributes from District Eleven had used that as their communication to make certain it was safe for the other to come out. One of the Careers had figured it out and used it to kill them both brutally. It was something Sophie would remember at least.

"Why are you whistling?" Maggie demanded curtly.

Nate spun towards her with relief flooding through his system. He bent down beside her and smiled wide. Blue-grey eyes were staring up at him again.

"Hey," he said, "How are you feeling?"

"My leg hurts a bit but not too much," Maggie said. She was smiling up at him again. That was always good. Then she turned her head a bit and realized something was wrong. "Where's Sophie?"

Oh right! Nate jumped to his feet and spun around with his arrow drawn. He whistled the four notes again and carefully stepped forward. There was a sharp snap to his left and he immediately spun towards it. His eyes grew wide and the source.

"You should have seen your face," Sophie chuckled at the boy. She was holding a few leaves in her hand and clutching at her side in hysterics. Her cheeks were turning red she was laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?" Nate asked. He just didn't get it. She made noise and he wasn't expecting it to be her. What could have possibly been so hilarious about that?

"Your face," Sophie giggled, "You looked like you didn't know what to do! It was hilarious!"

Nate rolled his eyes and then narrowed them at the girl. He'd forgotten how annoying she could be. He glared at her and waited until her laughing calmed down enough to speak.

"Maggie's awake and the balm's here," he said. Then he walked back the two paces it took to return to camp. Her giggles were renewed a bit at that.

"What's she laughing about?" Maggie asked.

Nate just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Maggie looked like she was going to argue with that but decided against it. She shrugged her shoulders and pointed towards the black pot attached to a silver parachute.

"Is that for me?" She asked.

Nate opened his mouth to speak but a brown blur interrupted him.

"Yep," Sophie pounced onto the ground beside the pot and immediately started opening it, "This should make your leg feel like new in no time."

The girl immediately set to work at removing the plants she had used. She gently rubbed in the balm and hummed all the while. She seemed in an incredibly good mood all of a sudden.

"I guess I'll go catch us some food then," Nate suggested softly. He wanted to be as far away from the weird girl as possible. Maggie narrowed her eyes at him. She knew exactly what he was up to. Nate just feigned an apologetic smile and bolted. Hunting was so much easier to understand than girls.

%

Nate came back to a small fire and two giggling girls. He was kind of disappointed. He was expecting a dead body or two angry voices. He was not expecting evil smiles shared between the two girls. He was expecting everything but. It was worrying.

"I brought food," he said. He held up the three rabbits and the pheasant he caught with pride. He could use the pheasant feathers to create more arrows later on if he needed to. Plus, the pheasant guaranteed they would have something to eat for dinner.

"I'll cook," Maggie volunteered. She gave a wink towards Sophie and the brunette immediately burst into giggles.

Nate stood with his mouth agape at the odd closeness of the two.

"Give me that," Maggie rolled her eyes. She took the three rabbits away from him and immediately started working on their pelts. They were going to eat well tonight. Maggie was an excellent cook.

"What have you two been up to while I was gone?" Nate demanded immediately. He wasn't sure how he felt about the way the two were working so well together. He was almost positive that they shouldn't be this close.

"Sophie gathered some plants for us to eat," Maggie explained. She was already working on removing the parts of the rabbit you didn't want. She was very fast at that.

"I even found the stream," Sophie added. She was grinning wickedly from ear to ear. It made Nate's stomach boil to see that type of grin. The girls were up to something.

"What are you up to?" Nate questioned with narrow eyes. He knew Maggie and Sophie plotting against him was a bad idea.

"Maggie and I had a thought," Sophie started slowly. That didn't sound good.

"We were thinking that since you have those glasses," Maggie pointed towards his bag to indicate what she was talking about, "You should maybe go to the Career camp and set off all of those bombs."

"That way they won't have any food and that will increase our chances," Sophie finished with a nod. She seemed very proud of the idea. It was a good idea. There was just one small problem.

"Except that would require me to be a safe distance away and still get away once they've figured out what's going on," he said, "Unfortunately they would mean that somebody would notice my tracks. I wouldn't have time to cover them and then I'd lead them right straight to us."

"So we'll find a place of refuge tomorrow," Maggie suggested smoothly. She already had the rabbits roasting over the fire. "That way it's closer to the camp and you can use a tree for shelter while they're searching for you."

"Most of the Careers aren't like me," Sophie added on with a sugary sweet smile, "They don't know what to do when the food supply is gone. You saw them, Nate. They were busy training with the weapons and neglecting everything else. Taking out those bombs will take out their food. It's perfect."

"Except I have to be the one to do it because I have the arrows," Nate sighed. He understood their plan perfectly. It was a good one. He just had to figure out how he was going to be safe throughout it all.

"I could do it and throw some knives," Maggie suggested coyly, "That way if something happens they won't know who it is specifically."

"Or I could do it," Sophie nodded along after a moment. "Maggie and I did see them set up all the traps. We just thought it would be easier for you."

"We'll find the shelter tomorrow," Nate said, "Then we'll decide afterwards if it is a good idea to set off the rest of the plan."

"Excellent," Maggie grinned. She handed out the sticks of rabbit with a grin. It was scary how fast she was able to cook them. Maggie had the magic touch when it came to food.

"Yummy," Sophie smiled at the blonde happily, "This is the best rabbit I have ever tasted. How did you get it to be so juicy?"

"It's all about how you roast it over a fire," Maggie shrugged, "Do it the right way and the fat helps to tenderize the meat and season it for you."

"Well this is delicious," Sophie said. She quickly set down the other half of her rabbit and rubbed her belly. She sighed happily. "I can't even eat another bite I'm so full. I'll save the rest for later."

"Why didn't anyone volunteer for you?"

Nate watched as the brunette's features scrunched up in confusion and her face turned towards him. It was the one question that had been gnawing away at the back of his brain all day. He knew it was a shot in the dark. The brunette didn't like talking about her life at home. She even avoided the question at the interview. Maggie just lifted her eyes and tried to use the fire to measure out everybody's emotions. Sophie at least had the decency to look him directly in the eye. Then she did something even more amazing. She answered.

"I'm the daughter of the town beggar. My mother is a seamstress and a weaver. Believe it or not District One does have a section of poor and I'd be one of them."

"Why does being poor make you worthy of going to the games?" Maggie frowned at the girl's statement. In the Seam everybody's poor except the champions. Nate could understand her confusion.

"We're considered a nuisance," Sophie replied. She started sorting through the herbs she found to give her hands something to do. "At least my family is. My father lost his arm in some accident long ago and he couldn't get work so he trades things to make money. My mother weaves anything and everything to give him something to sell. I collect plants to eat and we sell the rest for medicinal purposes. Together we scrape by."

"You spent your time collecting food and feeding your family," Nate explained aloud for those who wouldn't catch her meaning. That was the reason nobody volunteered for her. Nobody thought she would win. "You weren't training like the rest of the Careers."

"They sent you here to die!" Maggie gasped out in realization. She was appalled by the idea of it. Nate agreed. No district should send a child to the Hunger Games because they wanted to watch them die. That was just as bad as the Capitol in his book.

"Well the jokes on them," Sophie smiled at her allies as graciously as possible, "Because I have something to fight for."

"Your family needs you in order to eat," Nate nodded his head in agreement. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He was doing the same thing and Sophie just made that plan considerably harder to achieve.

"How many times have you signed up for Tesserae?"

There was the question Nate was afraid to know the answer to. Maggie didn't want to know either but she asked the question. She asked because she knew it would be answered. They all knew the cameras were on them, waiting to hear the drama unfold. They knew Sophie wouldn't disappoint the opportunity to get them more sponsors. It was a sad risk they all needed to take.

"There are eight back home," Sophie began slowly, "Add me into the mix and I have signed up for Tesserae nine times since I was twelve. I'm seventeen now. The odds have never been in my favor."

Nate and Maggie sat stunned by the turn of events. That was why they were so interested in Sophie. That was why they were able to recognize the kind of threat she brought to the table. She was one of them. She was even in a worse position than they were. Nate had never been more relieved at what he asked of Paul until this very moment. Sophie's family knew she wouldn't be coming back. Paul's family had the comfort of knowing their breadwinner was still there.

"The poor fools didn't even realize what they got themselves into," Sophie continued briskly. She was trapped in her own thoughts and her allies were too interested to stop her. "They had always wanted tons of children. It wasn't until I turned twelve that they realized the danger they put themselves through. They have seven babies to send to the slaughterhouse of the games."

Nate instinctively knew her last statement wouldn't reach the rest of Panem. Nothing negative about the games ever reached the rest of Panem. It was a shame too. Sophie could have easily gotten people in the Capitol to think about what they were doing. She had that kind of presence and didn't even care.

"My mother had bought me this lovely olive green dress made of silk," Sophie mused to Maggie with a smile. She looked deeply troubled by the thoughts of her family not having anything once she was gone. "At least it felt like silk. She worked so hard to buy it for me. I was supposed to wear it on my very last Reaping day. It was supposed to be my good luck charm. I hope she sells it when this is all done and over with. That dress should get them enough money for a year's worth of food. Well, if they spend it wisely. Then they can at least go one year without registering for Tesserae."

"That's so sad," Maggie remarked. Nate distinctly heard a sniffle.

"It's just how things are," Sophie grinned towards her new friend. She immediately shook her head and started staring at the fire in interest. "I should probably put this out. That way nobody can find us later on. You two should look for somewhere up high to sleep. I don't really think it will be safe on the ground. The other tributes have probably had to move camps too. Plus, nobody's died today so far. Let's not risk a sand pit by staying on the ground."

"Nate and I have to talk anyway," Maggie nodded. She grabbed the boy's hand and pulled him out of earshot without a second glance back. She was too trusting some times.

Nate followed the girl as willingly as possible. He had his bow and arrows if anything should happen. It wouldn't though. They had given the Capitol something to look forward to as they watched. Besides, Sophie just melted a bunch of hearts throughout Panem with her story. Hopefully that would get them a sponsor or two for later.

"Nate," Maggie whispered towards him with big blue bug eyes, "We have to let Sophie win."

Nate sputtered at the direct approach. He had expected the conversation but he wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. He had a few jokes and implants of doubt he was going to use to avoid it. Maggie actually beat him to the punch. That was not a good sign.

"Maggie, for all we know she made that up to get the sympathy vote!"

"What vote?" Maggie stared at him as if he was being unfair. He was but that was beside the point. "Never mind. Look, can't you just once forget about strategy and be human? Her family needs her to go home, Nate!"

"Maggie, she could be lying." That was the lie. Nate was sure of it. The pitch to Sophie's voice was all wrong for her to be playing a game with them. It wasn't like when she was charming Marcus into focusing on her while Maggie snuck up from above. It was soft and vulnerable. It was the truth. She was telling the truth, but he promised Parker. Didn't Maggie understand the situation he was in? It was the exact same as Sophie's.

"You know she's not," Maggie placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. Nate was actually scared. If he didn't know Maggie and her thoughts on killing, he would have sworn that he was at Death's door. In fact, he was still going to swear on it she was just so mad.

"Maggie, I promised Parker. I have to go back to make certain she lives. You know my dad won't be able to handle another loss. I'm just as stuck as she is."

"She's got more mouths to feed."

"Those mouths can work just as much as she can."

"Are you really defending your behavior?" Maggie stared at him in disbelief. She looked so disappointed and outraged. It was like she was expecting him to be the white knight and save the day. He wished he could. He wanted to give Maggie that one shred of hope, but he couldn't. He had a family to feed too.

"Parker won't have anybody if I don't make it home," Nate sighed in frustration. He knew the tribute from District One deserved to live, but he couldn't. He couldn't count on Paul to protect Parker in every way that mattered. He couldn't count on Jimmy to keep the girl alive. He had to go back. He had to win this thing, for Parker. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Well," Maggie looked heartbroken at the answer he gave. He just shattered her world into a million pieces. He could even see tears streaking her eyes. He hurt her bad. "Then I guess you're not the man I thought you were."

She left him standing there confused. On some level Nate knew she was right. Nate knew she was thinking about the ones left behind. He didn't care though. He wasn't what she wanted him to be. He wasn't the white knight. He wasn't the good guy. Hell, he didn't even know what he was anymore. He just knew this one thing. Maggie was too good for the games. And it was going to be her downfall.


	9. Time to Say Goodbye

**A/N:** _And we interrupt this regularly scheduled rant to give you great news. Death is returning to the hunger games and it's going to be big. Stay tuned to find out who._

%%%

Maggie rolled her eyes and sighed heavily at the pair. Nate and Sophie were fighting again, surprise! They had found a fork in the road and immediately started arguing about which way would be best. Sophie kept pointing towards the right with the plants as her proof of safer passage. Nate naturally refused to listen and pointed towards the left. He was under the impression that it would be the safer passage. They both were of the opinion that they were right and neither one of them was all too willing to admit to being wrong. Maggie huffed in annoyance again. They really knew how to act their age at the most inopportune moments ever. It was a wonder no other tributes attacked. You could probably hear the quarreling brunettes for miles.

"No, we go this way and we won't get killed!" Sophie's eyes were dancing dangerously towards the boy. Maggie could tell she was at the end of her rope. Nate could even tell she was at the end of her rope, but he just kept pushing. He enjoyed making her angry and all.

"The way you're pointing doesn't have any game trails or water tracks," Nate pointed out cleverly. He knew he was right and he was not going to be told no for very long.

"That's the point! We go my way and we'll avoid the other tributes. We'll be able to circle around later and collect supplies. We just filled our water bottles. We won't go hungry or get dehydrated if we follow my path!"

"You know what," Nate considered her option for a nanosecond. Well, he pretended to consider her option for a nanosecond. He was really just doing it to tick her off anyway. "Why don't you take your road and I'll take my road. Let's see who's right by the end of the night!"

"Fine, but don't come calling for help when you fall down a ditch and break your neck because you're running from other tributes!" Sophie turned around and started walking. She was silent as she stomped away from them. It was disconcerting to say the least.

"Bye," Nate waved off towards her. He couldn't hide the smug look of triumph on his face. Maybe with a little luck she'd get herself killed so he wouldn't have to do it. "Maggie and I will be looking out for your picture in the sky tonight!"

"Actually," Nate snapped towards Maggie in surprise. She looked a little shy but determined. That was worrying. "I'm going with Sophie," she said.

"What?"

"You heard me," Maggie chuckled at his shocked face, "I'm going with the little Princess."

"I'm not a princess!" Sophie growled back. She didn't even stop moving. She just kept trudging along. She was nothing if not very determined.

"That's your nickname so get over it!" Maggie called back.

She looked back at Nate and smiled sadly. She patted him on the shoulder and quickly raced towards the other female tribute. Sophie didn't even have to turn around to know who was following after her. Maggie sounded like an elephant pounding through a bunch of drums when she walked through the leaves.

Nate stood there stunned. Maggie actually left with Sophie. He just lost both of his allies in one go. How did he lose Maggie to Sophie? It wasn't fair. Nate glowered at the both of them and turned around in defiance. He would show them. He was going to find some shelter and laugh when their images appeared in the sky. He would show them.

He twirled towards the path at the left and started marching.

Nate was still brooding over the fact that Maggie chose Sophie over him after an hour had passed by. He stopped for a moment to look around and noticed something funny with the tracks in front of him. He stooped down low and prepared himself accordingly. The young man crept closer towards the tracks and froze.

There was a trip wire right where he was about to step. The young man followed the wire and noticed it led towards the trees. He traced the wire in the trees and was horrified to see a pulley above the ground. The wire traced back to the ground exactly where the unusual tracks passed through. If that wasn't a set up…

Nate slowly backed away from the odd tracks and kept a careful eye on his surroundings. He looked down and noticed a rock. He carefully examined the rock to determine if there was anything wrong with it. He sighed in relief when he confirmed it was just a rock and picked it up. The boy chucked the rock towards the trip wire and waited. The rock hit the wire perfectly and the trap swung into action. The ground immediately swooped up into a net and bounced into the cavernous hole it was covering up. The net bounced out with nothing but claw marks and holes. There was only one thing to explain it.

Nate swiftly grabbed an arrow and carefully placed it on his bow. He raised the arrow and prepared for the kill. The monster had no blood and would be looking for it soon. Sure enough, the monster appeared. It had the head of a bunny five times bigger than any normal sized man. Its teeth were that of a tigers, each as long as Nate's leg. The thing was big and its pink nose was looking for him. There was only one shot that would work.

Nate drew another arrow and aimed for his usual spot. The monster sent its head out more and turned towards him. It launched its open mouth towards him with blood basted breath. Nate fired off his two arrows into the thing's mouth. Then he ran for his life.

He heard snapping and hissing behind him. The scent of blood was everywhere and there was a loud thump coming from behind. The Earth beneath quaked with the effort of the creature behind him. Nate swore a few oaths and then quickly darted to his right. He fell towards the ground and rolled towards the trap. He hopped onto his feet and hope that the hole was still there. It was and he took advantage of it. The boy from District Twelve jumped over the crevice in the ground and hit the other side hard. He found the nearest tree and started climbing up.

The monster was bouncing towards him at a wicked pace. Nate barely even had time to climb the tree before the monster mutt was back in his sights. The tiger bunny was easily as big as the monsters in the stories you were told as a little one. The thing was as tall as the trees and its body was shaped like a cat's with a bunny tail. The thing looked blind with rage. It apparently didn't enjoy having arrows shot into its mouth.

Nate quickly drew two more arrows and aimed. There was a spot in the things throat. It was red and parted the fur every time the thing breathed. It was the only place that would work. He just had to time it right and he would end the monster's life. He just had to wait until the spot opened again.

The monster sat down on its back paws and began to sniff the air. It turned its tortuous head towards him and grinned. It slowly felt around the hole in the Earth and started towards him.

Nate waited.

The growled at him and started pawing the Earth. It slowly crept towards him and the stench of blood filled the world again. The creature lifted its head just a little bit and revealed its throat. The fur rippled in the spot and began to grow apart.

Nate fired his bow.

%

"We should go back for him," Maggie suggested softly. She knew Sophie was still mad, but she knew it was time to cool off. Nate could get into trouble and neither one of them would be able to forgive themselves if he got hurt or killed. Sophie would see that eventually, hopefully.

"He's the one that abandoned us," Sophie waved back to her. Apparently she wasn't going to be easy to convince this time. How did Nate get her to do anything as easily as he did? It wasn't fair. "He can come find us."

Maggie stopped walking at that. How could the other girl be so certain Nate would see he was wrong? Nate never admitted he was wrong. Even when he knew it he still refused to budge. It was one of the things he had in common with his father. Nate never admitted to being wrong. How could Sophie possibly think he would admit it to all of Panem?

"What?"

Maggie blinked. Sophie was a quite a few paces further ahead and then suddenly she was right there in front of her. She must have stopped and walked back just to question her behavior. How was she so silent? It wasn't fair. Oh, well, she was here wasn't she?

"We need to go back," Maggie turned on her stern face and watched the other girl recoil in disgust. Nate and Sophie hated each other, sure, but they did care about each other too. It was time to remind Sophie of that fact. "You know how much he likes to find trouble."

"He can get his neck broken for all I care," Sophie snipped. She wasn't looking Maggie in the eye though which was a definite tell. Maggie had convinced her to go back. She was just being stubborn about it.

"Come on," Maggie took her friend's hand and started skipping in the direction they came from. "We can tease him about it later. He's probably in some puddle right now grumbling about the fact that he should have listened to you and other choice words unsuitable for children ears."

"I hope he twisted his ankle," Sophie trudged behind her begrudgingly. Her shoulders sagged and she looked put out, but she was following. That was all that mattered.

Maggie smiled at her small accomplishment. She had finally gotten Sophie Devereaux to do something. Usually it was Nate complaining that got her to stuff. This time it was Maggie. This was already becoming a glorious day. Now all she had to do was figure out how to get them to get along and she would be all set. She liked her allies.

"Come along, little Princess," Maggie called with a smile, "You can tell Nate off when we find him."

Sophie muttered a few unintelligible words. Well, they were intelligible they just weren't exactly words that needed to be repeated. She was still holding on to Maggie's hand though and she seemed to be calming down.

"I'm not a princess," she grumbled. Then she continued using words that the game makers were probably just bleeping out. They didn't exactly encourage swearing during the games but they did nothing to stop it. They probably figured it was the least they could do for the unwilling participants of their entertainment.

Maggie just smiled wider and continued with her musings. Nate was probably stuck in a tree somewhere trying to think of a way to come back without saying Sophie was right. If anything it would be highly entertaining to watch.

%

"Dammit!" Nate cursed through the woods as he worked to follow Sophie and Maggie's trail. He'd already gotten lost five times following some of their false trails. It was bad enough that she was right but did Sophie really have to make him work to find them? "How am I going to explain this?"

He was furious. Of all the times his stubbornness had to get him in trouble, it was now. He should have just killed the girl when he had the chance. Then it really couldn't be his own stupidity to blame for the problems he kept running into. Then he could at least blame fate. But no, he had to be smart and she had to be smart and they both had to be smart enough to form an alliance. How was he going to explain this to the girls?

Nate continued walking for some time before he noticed something was wrong. He stopped and stared. The boy dropped down to the ground and observed the footprints he was following in confusion. They were bigger than Sophie's and Maggie's. They were even a bit wider. They weren't even making an effort to hide themselves either. They were male footprints and they were going in the same direction as Sophie and Maggie. Worse, there were three sets of footprints and one of them was carrying a spear.

Nate hopped to his feet and started running silently through the woods. Sophie and Maggie were in trouble. Somebody else got the same idea Sophie had and they were prepared for a fight. He had to warn the girls before something happened. He had to get there before the other group.

_Just my luck,_ Nate thought bitterly to himself. He was trying his best to ignore the panic. Panic seemed to be the only thing pouring through him though. _I get out of one mess and immediately land myself into another. _Hopefully it would make it in time.

%

Maggie was still holding Sophie's hand when she felt a sudden pull from it. She turned towards her ally in confusion. Then she rolled her eyes.

Naturally Sophie Devereaux would find a plant and immediately start inspecting it. In fact, she let go of the blonde's hand and started stepping closer to it. It was a large green leaf with red spots on it. It didn't look like such a big deal but Sophie was staring at it with a smile.

"It's food," Sophie explained simply. She didn't even look up from the plant. She acted like she knew exactly where Maggie was and didn't need to look up. It was a leaf. How was a leaf so important?

"We can always pick it up on the way back," Maggie hummed towards her. Yes she was impatient but she didn't exactly like staying in the same place for very long.

"No," Sophie giggled at the plant, "You don't understand. The food is the flower and the flower only comes out at certain points in the day. The leaf gains green spots when the flower is about to bloom. You go ahead. I'll catch up. It should only be a few more minutes anyway."

"You'll come back even if it is Nate?" Maggie asked. She had to make sure. Sophie and Nate were liable to abandon each other on a dime if she didn't make them promise her. They both seemed to only be loyal to her. It was kind of nice actually.

Sophie groaned and actually moved away from the plant to roll her eyes. Then she pursed her lips and said, "Yes, I promise I will go back for Nate."

Maggie smiled widely at that and nodded. Sophie rolled her eyes again and immediately went back to staring at the plant. The Seam girl laughed and twirled around. She was going to go get Nate. Sophie would join her as soon as the plant was done with its job anyway. The girl walked past a bundle of trees and paused.

She saw something in her peripheral vision. It was orange and shouldn't have been there. Maggie turned her head and stepped forward a bit. There was a clearing not too far from where she was standing. In it there were bushes as high as her knees. The girl from District Twelve moved closer to inspect it. She found the source of orange and raised an eyebrow. It was a backpack.

It was on the back of the boy from District Eleven. His name was Thresh if Maggie's memory was right and it usually was. The tributes from District Ten were with him. They were all creeping through clearing as quietly as possible. They didn't seem to be aware of her and she was glad. They were walking through the clearing with their spear and knives drawn. They looked ready for a fight. One of them looked injured.

Maggie kept careful watched and eyed her brunette ally warily. She was too far away to warn Sophie with her voice. All that would do would be to give them away and get them both killed. If she said nothing than they probably wouldn't even notice the District One girl. Sophie certainly didn't know they were there and they were just being as quiet as her. She was just going to watch and wait. Hopefully the danger would pass without a hitch.

Just then two things happened at once. The flower bloomed and Sophie stood up. Thresh ordered his allies to stay back while he checked it out. He noticed the other tributes movement. That wasn't good at all.

Maggie looked towards her friend and tried waving her hands to get her attention. Sophie was oblivious and packing away the flower unaware of the danger behind her. Thresh was creeping closer to the clearing and then suddenly stopped. He recognized Sophie immediately and grinned savagely. He raised his spear high with victory shining in his eyes. Sophie was gently tucking the flower of food into her backpack with a smile on her face. She took a step forward and Thresh pulled the spear back.

%

Nate was carefully racing through the woods at top speed. He knew he was getting close. He felt it in his bones that he was getting close to the girls. He just had to keep running. He had to warn them. Then he felt his foot catch and he fell forward. The boy mentally yelled at himself for not being aware of his surroundings and tried to figure out where he was. He glared at the decaying log that tripped him and picked up his pack and the arrows that spilled on the ground. He quickly made certain his ankle was fine and stood up. He found his bow a few feet to his left and swiftly moved towards it. He picked up his bow, looked up and stared.

He was on a hill overlooking small cliff. He was just high enough where he could see the division in the trees that marked a trail and the tiny clearing beyond that. Then he saw a flash of orange and immediately went to seek it out. His eyes zeroed in on the source instantly. There near the end of the clearing were the two tributes from District Ten. They were both looking towards the east ward section in fear and wonder. Nate's eyes immediately followed the source and he felt his heart freeze.

Thresh was standing by the edge of the clearing with a spear raised for the kill. Nate followed the line of sight with hope that it was just a deer. Then he saw Sophie and Maggie. The two girls were some distance apart and neither one of them looked like they were aware. Maggie was running towards Sophie and Sophie was walking forward. Thresh drew back the spear and then released it. He knew immediately where the spear was going.

Nate refused to move his eyes away from the spear's destination. He watched as the thing made its way closer and closer to his allies. Then he watched Sophie and Maggie collide and disappear over the little cliff. The spear disappeared with them.

"No!" Nate groaned.

%

"Sophie!" Maggie screamed at the top of her lungs. There was no pause in her actions. She ran in front of the spear without another thought. The two girls tumbled and stumbled through grass and leaves. There was no difference between Earth and sky as the entire world became a circle of both. The girls continued rolling and falling until there was nothing left to support them. They met the Earth only a moment later. Maggie and Sophie both collapsed onto the ground in pain, but for two very different reasons.

Sophie pushed herself to her feet to see what happened. She looked to her left and her right with her weapon ready for attack. She twirled around to check her back and saw Maggie lying on the ground. There was a spear sticking into her chest and blood everywhere. "No!"

"Maggie!" Nate called out from somewhere nearby, "Sophie!"

"Nate, help!" Sophie shouted at the top of her lungs. She rushed towards the District Twelve girl and tried to stop the bleeding. She knew she couldn't but she had to try. "Nate, they stabbed Maggie!"

Soon enough there was a rattling of leaves coming from above. Sophie prepared her knife for the kill just in case the footsteps weren't friendly. Nate appeared out of the bushes and hurried towards them. He ignored Sophie's knife and stared at Maggie in shock.

"What happened?" Nate demanded with wide eyes. He crouched beside his fellow tribute and held her hand. It was already too late and he knew it.

Sophie rustled around their bags to find something that would help Maggie out. She knew there were some plants that could fix this mess. She had already used some of them before. She did her best to ignore the prickling in her eyes. She was from District One. She didn't cry.

"Sophie, what happened?" Nate snapped at her. For some reason he knew she wasn't responsible for this mess. If it turned out she was he wasn't sure what he would do. Maggie had a spear in her chest and Sophie didn't. But the way she was rustling around through their bags meant it wasn't her. He ignored the relief at that knowledge. He was too busy mourning Maggie to even consider what any of that meant.

"I don't know!" Sophie cried out in disbelief, "One minute we're hunting up some plants and the next minute we're tumbling down the hill and she's got a spear in her middle! What am I supposed to do? I can't find the plants!"

"Sophie, I'm dying," Maggie croaked with tears falling from her eyes freely. Nate cringed at the news and Sophie just stared. The male tribute tried his hardest to ignore the distraught look on the District One tribute's face. He could see her mind working very hard to lie about the truth. He also knew it was a pointless lie.

"No," Sophie shook her head stubbornly. "No, Maggie, you're not… you're not dying. You're going to be fine."

Nate placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. He held Maggie in his right arm and shook his head. "No, Sophie," he said. It was all he could do.

Sophie's expression hardened into anger at the news. She clearly couldn't understand what was going on. "Why did you do that?"

Maggie just grimaced a smile of pain and replied, "You're my friend. Friends save each other."

Sophie kissed her. It was small and brief and on the top of her forehead. But the female tribute of District One kissed Maggie. Nate just continued to stare. He wasn't quite sure what to do with the jumble of information. Maggie saved Sophie and Sophie kissed her in gratitude. Maggie was dying in his arms and he was obsessing over the fact that Sophie kissed her on the forehead. Maggie's blood was on his hands, but Sophie kissed her. Why did that matter? Maggie was dying. That's why it mattered.

"Maggie," Nate stuttered out painfully slow. He needed to get his head back in the game. "Who threw the spear?"

"The boy from district eleven," Maggie whimpered. Her eyes were now focusing on the treetops. Her gaze was disturbingly glassy.

"Anyone else?" Sophie's tone was too cool. It was too thunderous really. Nate couldn't help but agree with the deadly tone. He was going to help her bring pain and vengeance on the person responsible for this.

"The tributes from district ten as well," Maggie nodded. Her voice sounded so small. Nate closed his eyes in frustration. His friend was about to die.

"I'll get them for you," Sophie promised quietly. Her eyes were already on the watch for her prey. Nate knew that he was going to have his handful when it came to planning their revenge. He just hoped the brunette would actually listen to him before beginning her blood bath. He wanted their revenge to be perfectly vicious.

Nate suddenly felt a peculiar weight in his arms. It felt like something just left them. He looked down and found Maggie staring up at him. Her eyes were murderously blank. Sophie noticed this too and whimpered. She reached towards the other tribute and cried, "Maggie?"

Maggie's cannon fired.

Nate swallowed back the tears at that. He slowly placed Maggie to the ground and carefully took her pack. He turned towards Sophie and reached out to her. He put his fingers underneath her devastated chin and made her look him straight in the eyes.

"She's gone," Nate explained in the gentlest voice he could muster. Sophie sniffled at his words but did nothing else to acknowledge his words. "But we have to take her pack and get out of here before the hovercraft takes her home."

Nate pointed to his left and kept his eyes level with hers. "We're going to go that way just like you said and find shelter like we planned."

Sophie nodded her head and began to gather their stuff. Then she stopped and headed in the opposite direction of where they agreed to go.

"Sophie?" Nate followed her out of fear that she would do something stupid. Even with Maggie dead they were still allies.

Sophie didn't wander far. She bent down near a patch and began picking flowers. Nate thought it was odd but he didn't comment. He instinctively knew those flowers were meant for Maggie.

The girl from District One quickly raced towards their fallen comrade and started braiding the flowers into the blonde tresses. The flowers were blue and pink and matched Maggie's pale skin and eyes perfectly. Nate closed their friend's eyes and Sophie placed another kiss on the girl's brow. Maggie now had a wreath of pink and blue on her head. It looked like she was sleeping, if they ignored the spear.

"Come on," Nate pushed the district one girl in the right direction.

The horrid melody of music that played Maggie to her eternal sleep immediately stopped. The hovercraft appeared and they both refused to watch it take Maggie away. They couldn't stomach seeing it. They needed to keep going. They needed to find secure shelter. That was the goal they had before Maggie left them and they were going to make certain her idea came through. There was just one other thing they had to do.

"Let's go get some revenge."

%

The boy from district ten squealed in pain as Nate stepped on his back to keep him down. The male tribute of district twelve snicked his arrow into the boy's skull without a moment of pause. He smiled when the cannon sounded.

A girlish scream forced him to raise his head with wide eyes. There was no need to worry. Sophie had just slashed the throat of the female tribute of District Ten. Her cannon sounded just as Thresh, the male tribute of District Eleven and their greatest enemy, made his appearance.

Thresh raced towards Sophie with all of his might. He held a bloodied knife in his hands and there was anger blazing in his eyes. His face was distorted in hatred and fear and his tongue was lagging from his mouth as he moved closer and closer to his target. Death was clearly on his mind.

Nate quivered an arrow and shot it through the dangerous tribute's heart. The boy fell down right where Sophie had been standing moments before. She had merely stepped to the side and ignored the stream of blood falling on her clothes. Thresh's cannon fired off and their vengeance was complete. It was time to move on.

%

The two continued their journey to shelter in silence. Nate was secretly afraid that Maggie hadn't told them every single person involved in her death. He wanted to get as much ground between their victims and shelter as possible. He didn't want to chance the fact that there had been more allies involved. He was pretty certain that was why Sophie hadn't said anything. Ordinarily, she would have chatted it up to keep everybody's mind off of the horrors of the day. Of course, today wasn't a normal day so that might have been the cause of her silence. They hadn't even talked about their alliance now that Maggie was gone. It seemed like a bad idea. Either way, Nate was grateful for it. He didn't really want to end his alliance until at least the final eight.

Nate noticed the first set of boulders only moments later. He looked back and smiled at Sophie. She returned the smile and sighed in relief. He slowed the pace down for her and kept walking as quietly as possible. Thankfully they were both used to traveling in the woods silently. It kind of made Nate miss Maggie more at the perfect silence they created. He just stuffed those feelings down and ignored them as best as he could. There were times to be sentimental and there were times to survive. Right now they needed to find shelter. Everything else could wait until then.

"Hey Nate," Sophie coughed out when she was certain it was safe to speak. "I'll teach you which plants are edible if you teach me how to use a bow!"

"Sounds like a plan," Nate agreed as they continued walking into the rocks. "We'll find shelter and then start first thing tomorrow morning."

"Are you sure that's safe?" Sophie demanded in confusion, "Won't someone come looking for us or something?"

"Ordinarily they would," Nate nodded at the question as he continued looking at the rocks around the stream, "but we're getting down to crunch time for the hunger games. Everybody's either getting too sore to fight or too hungry to think about anything else. We all need to regroup and rework our strategies. This is the part of the game where things get interesting."

"Alright," Sophie sighed at that, "I guess finding some cover should be good."

Just then a set of boulders the perfect size appeared in his line of vision. The boy tribute studied the massive rocks carefully and was pleased to see there were three of them locked together. They looked completely untouched. There weren't any bones or signs of life anywhere near it. It was perfect.

"Found it," Nate smiled at the set of boulders not too far away, "There should be a cave in here that will keep us safe from the elements."

"That looks like it could work," Sophie beamed at the pile of rocks that were just right. Nate nodded his head and continued walking towards the boulders he found. "What, no comment about how the little princess from district one doesn't mind sleeping in a rock?"

"No," Nate shook his head with sadness at the nickname, "Not today."

"For what it's worth I'm sorry about Maggie," Sophie mumbled out before she could stop herself. She meant it too.

"I know," Nate couldn't help but stop at that. She meant what she said but she didn't realize what just happened. Maggie died for Sophie and Sophie repaid her by decorating her hair. She even avenged Maggie's death with tears in her eyes. It was something he would never forget.

"We can stop being allies if you want," Sophie fought off the tears at the bitter memory enveloping her mind at the day's events.

"No," Nate turned back and grabbed the district one tribute with a violent shake, "We're not splitting up now! Not until we absolutely have to."

"Okay," Sophie nodded her head in agreement. There were tiny glints of wetness sparkling in her brown eyes. Nate could tell she was fighting the tears because of her district's reputation. He pulled her into a hug as he tried to fight off his own emotions. Maggie left them with the task of staying alive. He was going to make sure they did it.

"We should go ahead and set up camp," Nate released the girl and ignored the tears on his cheeks. He was going to keep Sophie alive for as long as possible. She was all he had left in the games.

The girl just nodded and sniffled again. She raised her head up high and started towards their little camp. Nate smiled in pride of the way she held herself together. They were going to make it through this. They had to win for Maggie now.


	10. Lessons to Learn

**A/N:** _I know but I had to kill one of them. It is the hunger games after all. _

%

Nate awoke to nothing but the feeling of soreness in his muscles. Every piece of him was complaining about the rocky surface he slept on. At least, that's what he kept telling himself. The truth was that he was numb. Maggie was gone and Nate found it very hard to find motivation to do anything. He tried to tell himself to get up and eat but nothing seemed to be listening. His eyes felt very heavy and he just couldn't get up anymore. He could probably get away with a few more moments of sleep.

"Nate, get up!" Sophie's voice was a sharp whip of sound. Her face appeared in his fuzzy vision and there was a tiny shake on his sleeping bag.

Nate tried to open his mouth to speak. Well, he thought about opening his mouth to speak. He just didn't feel like it was necessary to respond. He felt like he should have been worried about that, but he wasn't. All he wanted to do was go right back to sleep.

"Nate, get up!" Sophie's fierce voice ordered again. There was more urgency to her tone. She even shook him harder. Nate's teeth actually rattled from her force. "Please."

"I'm tired," Nate was amazed by the sound of his voice. It sounded so weak and fragile. It sounded like he was a million miles away. His voice was surprisingly distant despite the fact that it was coming from his chest. That was odd.

"Nate, you have to get up right now!" Sophie ordered briskly. The urgency was beginning to sound like panic. Nate couldn't help but wonder why. "You're going into a depression."

"Depression?" Nate heard himself ask. He was barely even interested in their conversation. He just wanted to go back to sleep. He didn't care about anything else but that. So, Sophie slapped him. "Ow!"

"Nathan Ford, you're not leaving me too!" Sophie ordered in a very high-pitched voice. This time she was practically picking him up by his shirt. Nate tried to ignore the wild look in her eyes. He really wanted to return to sleep, but he couldn't. Sophie needed him and that was all that mattered. He had to get up. She needed him to.

"I'm up," Nate announced. He flopped to his side and coaxed his feet into working. It took a lot of coaxing and stumbling, but he was soon on his knees crawling out of their cave. He blinked at the harsh light and immediately felt out of breath just from getting out of bed and leaving the cave.

"Don't go back," Sophie's hand was pushing him further out. Nate couldn't understand why he was so tired, so he focused on Sophie's instructions instead. He knew her orders were meant for his benefit. He wasn't going to ignore that after everything they've been through.

"We're going to learn which plants to eat and which to throw away today," Sophie spoke softly now. She was talking to him as if he were a child. He tried not to be okay with that.

"I thought we were going to start with your training?" Nate asked. He was starting to wake up. The events of yesterday and the day before were starting to catch up to him. He was even becoming more aware of his surroundings. Whatever Sophie was doing, it was working.

"I thought it best to start with yours under the circumstances," Sophie countered. There was a slight music to her voice now. Nate was surprised he had never heard it before. Sophie's voice sounded like a flute and piano having a duet. It was a nice, sweet sound. There was even a gentleness to it he had never noticed before. Sure her orders were in a soft staccato but the way the air moved around her lips still gave it that light and fluffy feel. It was very comforting.

"I think I should probably follow you then," Nate managed to stammer out through his odd thoughts. He knew she would worry about his suggestion but he also knew it was a good one. He didn't know his way around anything but moss and trees. She would be able to dictate where the edible food was growing.

"Are you sure?" She apparently reached the same conclusion because she didn't offer any argument. She was just concerned about leaving him behind. Nate tried not to smile at the news.

"I'll be fine, Soph," he said, "You'll be looking back to explain yourself anyway. I promise I won't wander off."

"No stopping for a rest either," Sophie quickened her pace to be in front of him. She turned around and walked backwards while she pointed a threatening finger his way. "You have to keep walking right now. Your body is going to do everything in its power to stop moving and you can't let it."

Nate stopped walking and stared at her in disbelief. There was an odd note to her voice all of a sudden. It was like a piccolo hitting its highest note with barely enough air to keep it sustained. It sounded like fear. She was really worried about him.

"I'll keep up," Nate promised in the softest voice he could muster. He stretched to his full height and breathed in deeply. That calmed her a bit. "I promise I won't stop for a rest until you do."

Sophie stared at him for a few moments. She tilted her head to the right and debated the pros and cons of his statement. She flopped her head upright and nodded once. She smiled a bit and immediately turned around, her hair dancing behind her from the swift movement. She carefully marched forward without a pause, trusting him to keep his word. Nate smiled at that. She trusted him enough to believe him. Now all he had to do was make certain her trust was warranted. Nate sighed and placed one foot in front of the other. He was soon walking right on behind her and his chest did feel a little lighter. At least, the heaviness from before was gone.

They had been walking around through the woods for quite a while when Nate slammed into the girl he was partnered with. Nate immediately backed away with wide eyes. He was in for a mouthful if their past experiences were anything to go by. Apparently Sophie didn't seem to be aware of this little piece of information though. She just turned towards him with a sad smile and pointed towards some greenery. Nate followed where she was pointing and rolled his eyes. They were just very big leaves.

"These are great for using as a binding for wounds and to help heal them," she explained. She seemed to be ignoring his rude behavior today. That was odd. She just shrugged at his eye roll and stepped closer to the leaves. "You add water when you want to use them to extract poisons and soften pain from burns and other maladies."

"You used these to help Maggie," Nate gasped. He realized why she was being so delicate with him. She was respecting his right to mourn Maggie. The poor girl probably didn't even think she had the right to mourn their fallen ally. It was odd having her be so nice in such a situation.

"Right," Sophie nodded. She quickly plucked a few of the leaves off of their bush tree thingy. She turned towards him with a soft smile and extended one of the leaves.

"Feel it," she commanded. Nate obeyed without complaint.

"It feels leathery," he said.

"That's how you know it's the right one," she nodded at his observation. She even smiled happily at it. She was pleased with him. Nate couldn't help but feel proud at that. He actually made her proud for once. He didn't pull scorn from her; he brought pleasure. That was a new experience.

"Cool," Nate grinned at the fact that he understood the lesson. He moved his hand further along the leaf just to make certain his senses had the feel of it perfectly memorized. Then his fingers hit something shockingly soft.

"What was that?" He gasped as he pulled away his hand and literally jumped back in such surprise.

Sophie actually rolled her eyes this time. She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"That was my hand, you idiot," she hissed. There was no heat to her statement though. No, she seemed thoroughly amused by his reaction instead. She was even fighting a smile.

"Why is it so soft?" Nate demanded bitterly. He didn't know if he should be embarrassed or amused. The smile flittering on her lips was just too contagious to stare at. It made him smile in return. Honestly, she spent just as much time in the woods as he did. Her hands should not feel so soft and inviting and warm, oh so warm.

Sophie's eyebrows narrowed in confusion. She stared down at her hands and then moved her chocolate charcoal eyes upward in question of his statement. She seemed to be unaware of the fact that her hands felt like silk velvet.

"Let's go," she said instead. Nate tried not to think about the fact that he was disappointed she didn't voice her question aloud. "I'm going to show you some other medicinal plants today. Tomorrow we'll work on edibles."

Sophie immediately twirled around on the spot and started heading towards some more plants. Nate stared after her in confusion. There was something different about her. She was glowing now. Literally every time they moved throughout the woods she was always in sunlight. It was like the game makers' sun was following her everywhere. It was odd.

The boy from District Twelve sighed at his odd train of thought. He shook his head to help clear it of the apparent fogginess within it. He took in a deep breath and started following his skillful teacher. He wasn't going to let her down after everything they've been through so far. Besides, she would probably kill him if he wasn't paying one hundred percent attention to everything she was telling him. He kind of had a feeling that she was going to test him at the end of the day.

%

"Time to rest," Sophie announced after she had showed him about half of the plants in the forest. She immediately found a boulder and perched gently on top of it. How did she do that anyway? Everything she did looked absolutely graceful and silent. Hell, every movement seemed to be calculated to be as invisible as possible. There was a story there. He was going to get to the bottom of it eventually.

Of course, Nate's stomach decided to grumble at that moment in time. It interrupted his train of thought and forced him to admit to something he hadn't even thought about all day.

"We haven't eaten anything since lunch yesterday," Nate realized with a jolt.

Sophie just blinked at him in confusion. Then her eyebrows scrunched down on her beautiful face. Her head automatically tilted to the left in thought. Then it snapped right back up and her face went shockingly white.

"You're right," she gasped. Then she immediately started rummaging around in her bag for something for them to eat. Apparently she turned up empty because her lips curled down a bit in disappointment.

"I'll try to find some mushrooms to eat," she said. Then her face suddenly twisted into her patented scowl. The whole of Panem were probably now well aware that he was in trouble. That was usually what that face meant. He was kind of afraid of that face. Something in his gut told him there was more behind it then just anger.

"Don't you dare move from that spot," she ordered briskly. She even pointed her index finger in his face and wiggled it as if he was a child.

Nate nodded his head at her order. He then immediately bit his bottom lip to keep the laugh from escaping his lips. He couldn't help it. Her scowling face reminded him of Parker during one of her tantrums. In fact, Sophie kind of looked like most of the Seam girls when she did that. Her hands were even curled outwards in the exact same way. She would totally fit in at District Twelve. She had the right mindset and everything. Nate blinked at that odd thought.

"You better keep your promise," Sophie warned with narrowed eyes before she immediately hopped away. She looked backwards a couple of times and then she was gone. She was probably hurrying just to make certain he kept his promise. It was odd really. For somebody so willing to kill him off on their first night together, she sure was afraid of him dying on her.

The boy from District Twelve just shrugged at her belief that he was a child and started taking in his surroundings. His tree stump and Sophie's boulder were both covered in thick green moss. In fact, most of the trees were covered in thick green moss. The stream wasn't anywhere near enough to see it but you could most definitely hear it. Nate could even tell the direction it was in from where he was sitting. It was over towards the right. Sophie had disappeared to his left, so he decided to see what was behind him.

It was a bush filled to the brim with electric blue berries. Each one looked luscious and absolutely ripe for picking. They looked like something Sophie would pick. So, Nate whistled out the four notes form before. He figured he would let Sophie tell him if they were edible or not, but she seemed to be ignoring him. She didn't come when he whistled so he whistled again, the same four notes. He gave up on her after the third whistle. Nate stared at the berries for a few minutes and then shrugged. He immediately picked one up off the bush and started raising it towards his lips.

Then Sophie smacked it out of his hand.

"Nate, don't eat that!" She screamed towards him, "That's poisonous. Don't you have any idea what that plant is? It's called…"

Nate stared at her in complete surprise. He had never noticed it before but the girl was downright beautiful when she was yelling at him. Her hair waved out of her face at odd intervals much like a swan's feathers move when they are about to take flight. Her cheeks puffed out a bit and her eyes narrowed to tiny slits. Her charcoal eyes looked like a soft yellowish brown when they did that and her cheeks made her look healthy. Her skin shimmered in the sunlight with its olive perfection. It looked like it would feel very soft under his fingertips. But it was her mouth that had the boy from District Twelve completely enamored. Her lips were a dark crimson red and looked downright tasty. Nate licked his lips at the thought.

"Are you even listening to me?" Sophie demanded with a scowl on her face.

Nate had to bite his bottom lip to keep from laughing at how cute she looked. Then he heard a twig snap. The boy immediately grabbed the girl's hand to catch her attention. Sophie stopped mid-rant and stared at him. Her cheeks grew pink and Nate suddenly felt his neck get warm. She really was as soft as he thought. The calluses on her hands were miniscule and barely even registered to his senses. She even smelled like spring and rain. Her eyes were gorgeously chocolate now. Then another twig snapped.

"Did you hear that?" He asked. His throat was very dry and scratchy for some reason.

Sophie just nodded. She was still staring at their hands in confusion. Nate distantly wondered if she was feeling the tingling sensation in her fingertips too. It was definitely a new feeling for him. He rubbed his thumb on her hand and smiled. The tingling sensation increased and it felt good.

Then they attacked.

Nate wasn't exactly sure who attacked him really. The only thing he knew was that one minute Sophie was right there with him, holding his hand. The next minute he was rolling down a hill of thorns and landing in a patch. He waited for the world to stop spinning and then he got up. He was a lot quicker to his feet than he had been that very morning. It was like cold water had been splashed all over him. The boy raced back up the hill through the thorny bushes and the raging weeds. He clawed his way up the angry hill, ignoring the slashes and scratches the bushes made in his skin. He pulled up rocks and worms, mushrooms and grass. He pulled up everything to help him climb up the hillside sooner. He groped his way towards the top and immediately went into action. Sophie was gone and so were his bow and arrows.

No! Nate thought in horror of the ordeal. They had taken Sophie and his weapon of choice. How was he supposed to save Sophie if he didn't have the bow and arrows?

The boy from District Twelve immediately searched around for his pack. He knew he had a knife in there. That was his only hope. Unfortunately that too seemed to have been taken along in the scuffle. There was only one thing left to do. He had to go after the group first. Then he would have to get Sophie. It was the worst plan possible and his only hope. Hopefully they were going to keep Sophie as bait to make certain they got him as well. That was the only comforting thought in this situation.

Nate braced himself for the horrors he was about to perform and took off, following the tracks the group had left behind carefully and quietly. There were only two of them and Sophie had been struggling the whole while. The idiots were blessedly keeping her alive. That would be their downfall.

The boy tracked their steps all the way to a huge boulder. He carefully moved around it and nearly vomited. The tracks were different now. Sophie's feet had disappeared and in their place was drag marks of horror. There was blood glinting on the rocks below and signs of a struggle were thankfully firm. Whatever happened, the girl from District One didn't seem to be conscious anymore. At the very least she just wasn't walking. At the very worst…

Nate squeezed his eyes shut and nearly gasped at the horrible image that popped into his head. His picture of Sophie dead somewhere was the thing that pushed him most. The young man flew towards his ally as swiftly as his feet could carry him. He raced through bushes and trees like the expert huntsman he was. He jumped over logs and rocks as if they were nothing. He only had one goal in mind. He was going to save Sophie.

Nate stumbled into a clearing, breathless from his efforts. He carefully observed the tracks and smiled at what they were telling him. He was close. The drag marks on the ground were heavier and they were easily being weighed down. Sophie had to be alive. They were struggling too much to carry her for anything else to make sense. He was going to save her.

The young man swiftly followed the tracks through the clearing and nearly gasped at the knife pointing towards his throat. Nate turned his eyes to the left and finally took notice of his enemy. The boy looked to be about fifteen and his hand was shaking. He had the typical brown eyes of most of the districts but his hair was sandy blonde. He was skinny for his age and he looked like he could easily be carried off by the wind. Nate smiled. The boy from District Eight would be nothing for him. He just needed to know where his partner was and he would be set. The boy from District Two was going to be the big problem.

"Where's your friend?" Nate asked. He felt like being sociable with this one. There was just something in his stomach telling him to take his time with this one. His instincts hadn't exactly faulted him so far.

"He's busy," the boy explained. He bravely urged his knife forward and Nate stepped back in response. The boy was leading him somewhere. That was good.

"Where's Sophie?" Nate asked after that.

The boy paused with wide eyes. He just stopped in the middle of the clearing with fearful eyes and his hand shook harder. He was afraid to answer. He did something he wasn't supposed to.

"What did you do with my friend?" Nate tilted his head to the side and tried not to look as menacing he was.

The boy swallowed and stepped back. Nate followed him and the boy squeaked. Nate stepped back and the boy visibly relaxed. This was going to be interesting.

"What did you do to her?" Nate demanded coolly.

"His name is Cato," the boy said. He sounded like he was afraid of his own shadow. He probably knew what was coming next. "He's going to teach her a lesson about her score."

"What kind of lesson?" Nate asked this as he was subtly inching closer and closer to the boy. The tribute from District Eight didn't seem to notice this though. He was too busy trying to figure out how much he could tell.

"A lesson she won't forget," the boy admitted softly. Then he did exactly what Nate wanted him to do. He looked towards the left near the ravine. He looked nervous when he looked in that direction and his hand shook even harder. Bingo.

"You should have just left us alone," Nate sighed. Then he immediately raced towards the boy in two sharp strides.

He punched the kid in the face and quickly wrestled the knife out of his hands. The boy tried to fight him but it was no use. Nate overpowered the kid in seconds flat. Then he took the nice sharp knife and moved the blade across the other tribute's throat.

"Please don't kill me," the boy whimpered. He swallowed at the knife pressing into his throat and nearly screamed in horror.

"Where are the arrows?" Nate demanded cruelly. He had no intentions of leaving the boy alive, not after everything that happened.

"I don't know," the boy sighed. He knew what was coming next. He wasn't completely stupid then.

"Tell me and I might let you live," Nate proposed with a quick tightening of the knife on the boy's throat. It was a lie. They both knew it but who knows?

"I'm going to need more than your word for that," he said.

Nate smiled. The boy was going to play. He was going to make his job harder, not much harder but harder all the same. Then he asked, "How about a head start?"

The boy gulped at the question and was kind enough to take his time to think about the offer. Nate kindly pushed the knife closer to his throat as reminder not to waste his time. Sophie was still in trouble.

"Sounds reasonable," the boy stuttered out. He didn't sound too sure of himself. That was good.

"Good," Nate said, "Where are the arrows?"

"Let me go first," the boy bargained.

"Arrows then head start," Nate shook his head at the boy's thoughts, "You have less to lose right now."

"It's only my life," the boy grimaced at the statement.

"And it's not just mine," Nate agreed. The boy smirked at that. It was like he was in on some private joke. It also seemed to confirm something with him.

"Cato has them," the boy whispered. Good, he didn't care about his whole dying anymore. That meant Nate didn't have to waste any more time. Cato was going to die next.

Nate lifted the knife off of the boy's throat and stood up. He stepped out of kicking distance and pointed towards the woods.

"Start running," he said, "You have until I count to five."

The boy's eyes grew wide and he immediately hopped to his feet. He ran at top speed towards the woods as Nate started counting.

"One…"

The boy tripped over a log.

"Two…"

The boy was up again and racing towards his ally frantically.

"Three…"

"He's coming!" The boy shouted, waving his arms high up in the air to give his ally a warning.

"Four…"

"Cato, he's…"

"Five!" Nate shouted at the top of his lungs with his weapon already zooming out of his hand. The knife hit the boy right in the back. He collapsed instantly and his cannon fired.

Nate smiled and immediately raced to retrieve his weapon. He kicked the boy to make certain he was dead and took out the bloody knife. He wiped it off and immediately went towards the ravine. He was going to save Sophie one way or another.

Cato was standing near the top of the ravine with blood on his hands.

Nate saw nothing but red after that. He screamed and threw his knife at the same time. Cato fell instantly with the knife lodged in the back of his head. Cato's cannon went off but the boy from District Twelve didn't care. He just pounced on top of his dead compatriot and started punching for all he was worth. He ignored the tears stinging his eyes. He just kept punching and punching. Then he remembered his arrows and removed them from the dead body and proceeded to continue hitting it. He was still punching it when he heard the birds go silent and a masculine scream from down below.

Nate jumped off his victim and looked down, his bow and arrow ready to destroy the world if he had to. There was a puddle of dirt and sand floating on the bottom, a body was floating in it. The long brown curls and the outfit on the girl was all he needed to know. Sophie was down there and he was going to save her.

Nate scrambled down the hill as fast as his tired legs would let him. He nearly fell down the hill in his haste to get to the bottom and save his ally. Then he took notice of the fact that somebody else was down there with Sophie.

"Get away from her!" Nate screamed at the top of his lungs.

The young man rushed forwards with all of his might. He had to get to Sophie. He had to protect her. That was his job and he had to do it. She was his only ally and she needed him. So he raced towards the quick sand as quickly as possible. His feet flew as he hammered to save the female tribute from District One. She needed him and he was going to be there.

"Sophie!" Nate shouted the moment she came in sight. Her shoulders and head were all that was left above the pit. Her companion from district one was trying to dig her out and failing.

"Don't move!" James requested with a shaky hand frantically reaching for his knife or spear.

"You're doing it wrong," Nate declared hoarsely. He immediately placed down his bow and pulled the girl out of the quick sand by linking his arms around her shoulders and pulling with all his might. There was a popping sound and Sophie was officially lying unconscious in Nate's arms.

"You did it," James cheered with a sigh of relief. Clearly, he had been worried about the girl from his district more than he should have been. He raised his shaky spear and pointed it at Nate's throat. "Now, give her to me."

"You don't know what happened," Nate argued angrily. He was getting sick of spears. "You don't even know how to treat her. How do you expect to save her under these conditions?"

"She's my ally," James pointed out roughly with a quick shove of his spear. "How can I trust you to keep her alive?"

"I've done it so far," Nate sneered back smug. He was right and they both knew it. He was the only option for Sophie's survival.

"Go," James suggested as he lowered his weapon with a simple look at the brunette's condition. He was definitely in love with his fellow tribute.

Nate didn't feel like commenting on that. His stomach boiled at the way James and the other tributes stared at her. It didn't make any sense but now was not the time to address it. He had to get Sophie to safety and save her. Nothing else mattered until then.

The boy from District Twelve carefully placed the girl from District One on the ground and began to check her body for injuries. He found a tiny knot on the back of her head. He felt tiny drips of blood and knew Sophie had hit a rock when she fell into the sand pit. It was a simple fix if he could remember the correct plant to use.

Nate scrambled around their little cave in search of the herbs Sophie had told him were helpful. He pulled out their canteens and their sleeping bags in futility. He pulled out left over pheasant legs and a bit of the rabbit they had earlier. No leaves. He reached into Sophie's bag again and found bright electric blue berries in her pack and frowned as he tried to remember what they were.

"These are nightlock, Nate," Adrianne explained to her little brother slowly. She held out her palm and showed him the electric blue berries with an intense stare. "Don't eat them and don't give them to other people. They're poisonous. Use these on enemies only and only if your life is in danger. Never eat these or give them to anybody to eat. You see them in a bag you throw them out."

Nate blinked at the sudden memory. He quickly threw the berries away and scrambled around the packs to make certain none of them were in there anymore. He knew Sophie knew what those berries were. Those must have been the berries she told him were poisonous that very morning. He should have been paying better attention.

"Ha-ha!" Nate cheered in victory. He had felt a familiar leathery binding at the bottom of Sophie's pack. He pulled it out and was proud to see it was the star-shaped plant he had been looking for. It was the one that helped head injuries.

He quickly poured water over the wound and began binding it with the leaf. He then tore a piece of the jacket he stole from the District Ten tribute and used that to keep the leaf pressed against the injury. Sophie's breathing immediately eased and Nate felt his own breath release in relief. They were going to be fine.

%

The capitol crest went up. Then the anthem began to play. Sophie's eyes flew open at the familiar noise. She sat up straight and then bolted to the opening of the cave to watch the sky. The images boy from district two and the boy from District Eight, the small group that had attacked them earlier appeared and disappeared. It was down to the final eight.

"He's not dead," Sophie sighed in relief.

"He let me go so I could save you," Nate shrugged in reply. "He knew I was your only chance."

Sophie absorbed the information with an unreadable expression. She stared at the trees outside and finally replied, "Go get some sleep. I'll keep watch."

"I can feel your pulse," Nate pointed out slowly. He didn't know when he reached for it, but her wrist was in his hands now. He enjoyed the feeling but he knew the feather light pulse was bad. "You need to rest more."

"Okay," Sophie agreed immediately. She was staring at her wrist in confusion. She wasn't quite able to figure out what was going on. There was something unusually fantastic about the fact that the young man from district twelve was holding her hand. She shrugged it off and immediately went back to sleep. It was probably the quickest she fell to sleep in her life.


	11. The Final Eight

**A/N:** _Here's a long one for the wait._

%

Nate walked through the woods as quickly and quietly as possible. It was the dead of night and he had to be careful. His plan wouldn't succeed if anybody heard him. Discretion was the key.

The trickiest part was leaving Sophie alone. Nate had been terrified of the idea of it ever since the attack on her. In fact, he set traps all around the area just to make certain nobody would be able to get in. Then he realized that if she wanted to leave she would set off a trap so he immediately got rid of that idea. So the boy from District Twelve had been back to square one.

"We need to get rid of the Career's food supply in order to win," Nate had complained while they were eating.

Sophie just rolled her eyes at his statement and ignored him. She had been doing that a lot lately. No matter how often Nate tried to talk to her she would either answer with a simple word or nod her head. He didn't know what he did wrong but he figured it had something to do with her head injury. She was probably embarrassed that she needed rescuing.

"So far you are the only Career-like person whose strategy didn't actually rely on getting to the cornucopia and taking all of the food there," Nate continued. He was making some training arrows for Sophie because he was a faster eater. It was the only way he could do something with his hands other than strangle her for not cooperating.

Sophie heaved out a puff of air heavily and glared at him. That was enough for the boy. She finally looked him directly in the eyes after a full day of nothing more than sleeping and pretending he didn't exist while she was awake. He finally achieved a beautiful reaction out of her. It was all he needed to make his move.

Nate calmly held out his hand and gently gripped the girl's chin. He pulled her closer so they were staring each other directly in the eyes. "It was yours and Maggie's plan, Sophie," he said, "It's time to follow through."

Sophie's charcoal brown eyes unexpectedly glistened with water at his words. He understood the reaction because that was why he said it. It was the last plan they had agreed upon before tragedy struck. It was the only way she would let him go.

"It was a stupid plan that got Maggie killed," she said instead, surprising him and probably all of Panem along with him. Then she moved her left up to her chin and snatched onto his hand. She placed her right hand on top of it and gently started rubbing circles. Nate stared at the action completely puzzled.

"We just need to focus on surviving now," Sophie finished sadly. She was still rubbing circles in his hand and fighting against tears to keep her image up. It was a heart-wrenching sight, if you didn't know Sophie.

"Don't try to con me out of this!" Nate snarled at her, taking his hand away in disgust. He shook it just to get rid of the tingling sensation. He knew his jibe was a low blow but this was ridiculous. "You know getting rid of your friends' camp is the only way to win!"

Sophie's eyes grew wide with surprise and anger. Her lips pursed out a bit signaling that her long lost scowl had finally decided to make a reappearance. The flicker of anger was dazzling bright within her brown doe eyes. "Fine but you're not doing it without me!"

"Dammit Sophie!" Nate raised his hands in exasperation. How could she do this? How could someone like her be so kind and generous and amazing one minute and then downright infuriating the next? It just wasn't fair. "By the time you're all healed up they'll be ready for an attack! That's a bad strategy and you know it! We can't wait for your head to finish healing."

"Then we'll go right now," Sophie nodded stiffly. Her eyes unfocussed at the movement and she went a little cross-eyed but she blinked and everything was back to normal. Then she started working on getting herself up and away from the sleeping bag. Her eyes went cross-eyed again.

"No!" Nate growled softly towards her. He immediately grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and restrained himself from shaking her. Once his anger was in check he set her down as carefully as possible. "You're not coming with me, Sophie!"

Sophie crossed her arms defiantly and huffed in annoyance. "Then you're not going!"

And that was it. Her word was final and there was nothing he could do about it. So, the boy from District Twelve sent her a scowl of his own and promptly left the safety of the cave to avoid killing the girl. He had some important fishing to do if he wanted to get some food in her anyway. Yeah, he would use that to convince her of his plan. And if that didn't work he could sneak off at night while she was sleeping. Of course, when she woke up she would probably leave the cave and go searching for him and then get herself killed or worse. Yeah, he needed a new plan.

"I need something to ensure that she won't sneak off while I'm destroying their food supply," Nate grumbled to himself, thinking out loud to better strategize. Then he realized that he was a tribute with a mentor whose job it was to send him what he needed when he needed it.

The boy's head snapped up and he started looking around him for some cameras. He knew they were close. For some reason the cameras seemed to be around him nonstop for the past four days since he and Sophie were left alone. Well, since he brought Sophie back and started taking care of her that is. He knew they were around there somewhere.

"Haymitch," Nate called out quietly. He wasn't far enough away from the cave to be certain Sophie wouldn't hear him. He was dead positive she had the super hearing of a wolf. He didn't want to know why she had such good hearing though.

"Haymitch, I need you to send some of that sleeping serum," Nate continued, "You know what stuff I'm talking about. I need some of that stuff used to put people to sleep for long periods of time. It's the only way I'm going to be able to get rid of the Careers' camp."

Nate waited a few minutes for his request to be fulfilled. He even looked towards the sky in hopes of seeing a silver parachute clambering down towards him. He didn't. The serum he needed didn't seem to be stopping by for a visit.

"I need it now," Nate huffed towards the cameras. Then he immediately clamped his mouth shut because he said that way louder than originally intended. Luckily Sophie's super hearing didn't seem to hear his command and the boy heaved a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was Sophie Devereaux figuring out his plan to defy her wishes.

"Please," Nate tried in a much more subdued and softer tone. He even held out his hands and did that puppy dog look Sophie always pulled on him. But nothing came. Apparently he was going to have to work in order to get the serum for Sophie. That just meant he was going to have to get the girl to admit something more about herself, just like last time.

Nate stomped his foot on the ground and glared in the direction of the cameras once again. "Fine," he huffed dramatically, "but you better send us food too. Remember, Sophie loves drop biscuits and if I'm going to succeed in drugging her it might as well be with something she enjoys! And it better be enough to keep her out for a few days!"

With that, the boy from District Twelve stomped towards the river in scorn and began his angry task of fishing for dinner. He cast out his fishing pole, a stick with string tied to it, and immediately grumbled under his breath about the fact that he seemed to be the only one working his butt off just to be told to work harder because what he was doing wasn't good enough. He caught three fish during his grumbling sulk and quickly went to work preparing them. He wasn't quite ready to return to the cave but he knew he would have to. Sophie would come looking for him if he didn't.

Nate scowled at his ally and once again wished he had killed her in that clearing on the second day of the games. At least then he wouldn't have to worry about her, of course he'd be dead too so there. The boy jerked his scaled and filleted fish into his hands and started trudging back to the cave. It was now time to retrieve information from Sophie Devereaux. It was going to be a long night indeed.

Dinner was quiet to say the least. Well, it wasn't quiet as much as ice cold silence. Sophie completely ignored him the whole time. She didn't even thank him for the meal and she always thanked him for the meal. She just kept her eyes on her food and ate as slowly as possible. She was being deliberately slow. It was like she knew he had a plan to disobey her order. Maybe she did hear his conversation with the cameras.

Anyway, Sophie was unusually careful with her meal and Nate was starting to suspect there was something else going on. She would only take a bite when he would and she wasn't even watching. He knew because he checked. Then his eyes narrowed and he quickly picked up some fish and reached towards her with it.

"Don't you even think about it!" She scowled at the slimy meat wiggling in front of her. Nate smiled because he had almost gotten it to her mouth before she protested. She wasn't watching as carefully as he originally thought.

"I just wanted to make sure you were hungry," Nate said with a laugh, "You're eating slow. You never eat slow."

"Maybe I want to take my time," Sophie crabbed towards him softly.

Nate smiled at the sarcastic response and moved right up tight against her. He reached out and turned her head towards him so their eyes were linked. "Or maybe you're trying to keep an eye on me without keeping an eye on me," he said. He was right and they both knew it.

"Can you blame me?" She asked with only the slightest crack in her voice as she looked at him, "We both know you're going to do whatever it takes to get your way despite the consequences."

"I won't leave until I know you're safe though," Nate nodded at her reply. They were both being honest and it really didn't matter that they were revealing their own plans. It was stupid and pointless to pretend they didn't exist. They were both too smart to fall for it anyway. They might as well be out in the open about it.

"You won't leave until you find yourself and opportunity," Sophie shook her head, "and I won't give it to you."

Nate sighed at that. She had a point. He really was waiting for an opportunity to appear. He was also waiting for something that probably wasn't coming anytime soon. He did have a couple back up plans and all.

"You know we have to start thinking about winning," Nate cringed at the sound of his voice. It felt like a betrayal to even support the games the way he was. But he had no other choice he promised Parker he would go home. He had to do this. "The Capitol is going to get sick of us just sitting around and waiting. An attack will buy us time for strategy. You know this is the right thing to do. You knew it when you suggested it to Maggie."

Sophie stared at him speechless. She probably thought he didn't know it was her plan from the very beginning. The girl probably didn't realize just how much he was able to read her until this very moment. Of course it had been her plan. Maggie wouldn't have suggested it without some changes. The original plan probably even involved a few deaths. It still might, depending on how everything goes.

"That was before it was just the two of us," Sophie growled towards him. It was a soft growl, more like a kitten's purr than an actual growl. She wasn't angry anymore, just afraid. She didn't want to lose him and he was just as attached to her. It was the major reason why he should have killed her when he had the chance. "Nate, you won't have anyone to watch your back if you go without me. That's too dangerous. What if the bombs go off and force you into unconsciousness? What's to stop one of the other tributes from slicing you into a million pieces? You have to think about your promise to Parker!"

Nate rolled his eyes at the play and his scowl deepened considerably. She was right and he hated it. It sucked that they were playing at the same level and it sucked that she knew him so well after only a few weeks in the trenches. It wasn't fair. She got to know everything about him and he got nothing. He just got a wall.

"Don't you dare use my promise to Parker on me!" Nate pointed an angry index finger directly into her face, "You don't get to do that! You have no right!"

"No right?" Sophie looked affronted at the idea of it.

"Let me finish!" He interrupted, "You have no right because you won't share! Every time I ask you anything about home you change the subject and I'm sick of it! I want answers! I want to know what your family is like. I want to know why you're doing this. It can't just be because you want to put food in your siblings' bellies, it can't be! There's something you're not telling me and I demand to know!"

At this Nate put his face as close to hers as possible and glared directly into her eyes. "I demand to know Sophie Devereaux!"

"What do you want to know?" Sophie hissed back just as loudly and just as close. Her breath was hot and smelled like sweet honeysuckles despite everything they'd been through. But her eyes held the fire he'd been looking for and he focused on that instead of everything else. He needed to focus on that instead of everything else.

"What's your favorite color?" He asked. It was a good starter question.

"Blue," she said softly. Then her cheeks sort of went pink and her eyes darted down before they went back to staring him defiantly down.

"What's your favorite animal?" Another softball question for the both of them.

Sophie moved closer to him with her eyes boring into his. "A robbingjay," she said. Their lips were moments apart.

"What's the one thing you want most in the world?" Nate demanded softly, struggling to keep his eyes level with hers. It was impossibly difficult all of a sudden. Her lips looked incredibly soft from where he was positioned.

"I want y…" Sophie backed away with wide eyes at whatever it was she was about to say. She looked downright startled at the very idea of it. Her cheeks were suddenly very red and she couldn't look him in the eyes anymore.

Nate didn't like the fact that she pulled away. He missed her warmth and her intense stare. So, he reached out his right hand and cupped her chin. He turned her head gently towards him and kept his gaze steady with hers. "You can tell me," He said, "I promise I won't let it come back to bite you later on."

Sophie just shook her head at the offer and blinked her eyes a bit. She looked away from him again and stared out the cave entrance. "I want the Capitol to see the evil it creates by sending children out into the arena to slaughter each other," she said softly. Nate was surprised to note the feeling of cameras still on them. Surely nobody in the Capitol would want to watch this.

"I want them to see just what they're doing when they ask children to make friends only to kill them later on," she continued, "I just want them to see that we're more than a just a form of entertainment. We're human beings who deserve to be loved just for being us."

And that was why the cameras were still on them. The game makers knew the girl from District One would be saying something worth keeping. They probably cut to the Careers' camp during her Capitol rant just so they could cut back to her the moment she said something worth keeping. All of Panem was probably sobbing in grief at the girl's brave statement. Of course, that was what Haymitch was hoping for. Sophie was somebody who easily won the hearts of Panem and he was her ally. That was exactly what the sponsors needed to hear to grant his plea. Hopefully it worked in their favor.

"Is it bad that I'm still hungry?" Sophie questioned sadly. Her voice cracked a bit as she spoke. Nate could see the wetness sparkling in the corners of her eyes.

Nate felt his heart squeeze at the miserable state she was in. He knew exactly what he was going to do to make it easier for her. "I'll go catch us some more fish, okay?"

Sophie's eyes lit up at his little statement and the grin on her face made his offer seem like something more than just a full belly. She made it seem like he was offering her the world on a silver platter. If everything went right he very well might.

Nate crawled out of the tent quickly and started towards the stream again. His pole was still there waiting for a nibble anyway. He knew Sophie was still going to be hungry and he had been determined to get that sleep serum. Thankfully his hunch was right.

A silver parachute appeared out of nowhere and slowly made its way towards the fishing pole. Nate raced towards it and jumped in the air in triumph. It was a basket of food. The drop biscuits he requested were there along with some stew and roasted chicken. There were even mashed potatoes. There was a small tin of silver neatly tucked beside the biscuits too. Nate lifted it up and was surprised to see a label on it. It was the serum complete with instructions.

The boy chuckled happily at amazing gift from above. He quickly read the label and memorized the amount needed. He hid the tin with the biscuits and quickly raced towards the cave. The plan for getting Sophie to sleep was now in full swing.

Sophie's eyes were blown wide with shock and excitement the moment the basket of food was in her sights. "What's that?"

"Food," Nate replied happily. It wasn't fake happiness either. They both really needed the food. He just had to be careful. Sophie Devereaux was not a very trusting young woman and she knew him. She would be on the watch for a trick and he had to make certain she didn't catch it. "We have stew, chicken, mashed potatoes and," he paused for dramatic effect, "drop biscuits."

"Drop biscuits!" Sophie's face contorted into one of blissful shock, "That's amazing. What did you do to get us this?"

"It wasn't me," Nate admitted honestly. Sophie would have detected the lie anyway and he needed her guard down in order to finish his plan. "It was you," he said.

"Me?" Sophie's eyebrows moved downward in confusion of the statement, "What did I do?"

"You told Panem that we are more than just entertainment," Nate smiled at her question, "You reminded them that we were worthy of being loved too."

"That didn't make it to the Capitol," Sophie rolled her eyes at his statement. "You just don't want to admit you did something amazing to get this for us."

"Are you still hungry?" Nate asked with a smile on his face so wide he was certain she was going to catch onto his plans soon enough. It didn't matter though. He just needed her to eat something with the serum on it.

"I'm famished," Sophie nodded her head and smiled back at him daintily. She probably already knew something was up simply by the way he changed the subject. Oh well, all she had to do was eat and he would be taking care of business somewhere else.

"Would you like a biscuit?" Nate questioned softly. He pulled out one for her to see and waved it in her face slowly. "There's even honey if you want it… or butter. You get to choose."

"Honey please," Sophie purred affectionately towards him. She was staring at the biscuit with hunger glowing in her eyes. Thankfully that hunger would be her undoing for the time being.

Nate quickly scooped up a biscuit and gently applied the serum right in front of her. He knew the color of the liquid was wrong but that didn't really matter. The Capitol experimented with everything. In fact, they were known for their clear honey. Well, they called it white honey but it was clear. Besides the food came from the Capitol, all Nate needed her to do was take a bite. He would take care of the rest.

"Open wide," Nate grinned towards her with as blank a look on his face as he could perform. He even kept his eyes on her mouth just to keep up appearances. It was not because he found it interesting and soft and her lips really did look delectable.

Sophie narrowed her eyes at the order but dutifully took a bite. She chewed the bite she had in her mouth and swallowed. "What are you up to?" She asked. Then she blessedly took another bite.

"Nothing," Nate hummed as he continued to hold the biscuit for her. He enjoyed holding her food for her. He was kind of sad that it had to be under these circumstances. He would have loved to feed her more often than just this very moment. Oh well, this was a very worthy sacrifice for their survival.

Sophie took another bite of the biscuit and her eyes went wide in shock. Her face suddenly grew pale and Nate felt his heart drop into his stomach. Did he put too much on? Did he kill her without meaning too?

"I know what you did," Sophie gasped. She pushed the biscuit away and put her hands over her mouth in shock. She shook her head a few times and attempted to crawl away. "You put that sleeping serum on that, didn't you?"

"Yes," Nate nodded. There was no sense in lying. She had figured him out and it would be more of a betrayal if he didn't own up to it.

"How long will I," she yawned and her eyes were already beginning to droop, "How long will I be out?"

"Not long enough," he admitted as he jumped towards her and gently placed her on the ground.

Sophie shook her head and tried to fight him off. Nate just played dirty because the serum was taking effect. He slammed the biscuit into her mouth and forced it down her throat as roughly as possible. Sophie gagged at the action and tried to force the food out of her mouth. Nate just grabbed his water bottle and started pouring it down her throat. He ignored the prickling feeling and wetness on his cheeks. He had to do this. Sophie struggled against him and began choking on the water and the biscuit. There were tears falling from her eyes as she tried to fight off what he was doing. So the boy from District Twelve did the only thing he had left. He slammed the girl's mouth closed and blew on her nose. She automatically swallowed and he repeated the action again just to make certain the task was done. Nate rubbed her throat and raised her to a sitting position. He began combing his fingers through her hair and brought up the water bottle.

"I'm sorry," he cried into her ear, "I'm so sorry, Sophie."

Sophie didn't say anything but she drank from his offered water bottle and continued to cry silently at what he had done. She fought hard to stay awake but it was futile. In fact, she was clinging to his shirt, breathing heavily for air when she finally succumbed to the serum within her.

Nate swallowed at the awful thing he'd done and carefully placed her back into her sleeping bag. He tucked her in and placed a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Soph," Nate sniffled out in sadness. He then carefully picked up the food and put it in a safe place. At least she would have something worthwhile to eat. He just took a chicken leg and the serum. He didn't really want anything else from that basket.

Nate took off the moment the Capitol crest went up into the sky. He set traps around the cave after dinner. They were set so Sophie could see them from the cave. He hoped he made it back before she was awake. If he didn't she would come looking for revenge. He knew it was the truth because it was exactly what he would have done. It was one of the few things they had in common. They were both stubborn and would do anything to get their way or protect their friends.

That was why Nate was walking in the dark with the night goggle shades on his face. Not surprisingly Sophie was right about them. They did make travel perfect during the night. He could see everything. He could see the trees, the animals sleeping; he could even see the traps around the Careers' camp. They hadn't even set up new ones when Sophie became his ally. This would be easier than originally planned.

The boy from District Twelve carefully moved closer to the camp and stopped just moments away. There was something off about the ground right in front of him. The grass was wrong. It looked like it had been moved. Nate arched an eyebrow at that. If he hadn't lived his whole life in the woods he would have never recognized the difference. He had found the mine. Now all he needed to do was figure out how he was going to set them all off without endangering himself.

Nate spent the rest of the night figuring out where each of the mines were. The Careers had encircled the entire area with only a small path that one person could get through. That was probably James' idea. He probably thought that would give him the perfect opportunity to kill off the rest of them while he planned on stealing Sophie back. Oh well, Nate was going to use that plan against him. He just needed to find the perfect tool to carry out his plan. The boy looked up and grinned.

%

Nate took off his shades the moment the sun began to rise. It had been a long night and his day was just about to begin. Luckily the tree he was in provided the perfect amount of protection in the event that somebody would look up for any reason. It was also perfectly located so he could use his arrows to take out the sack of apples hanging from a branch directly over two of the mines. If he set those off, they would set off a chain reaction that would thus destroy every single bit of the campground and the food within.

All Nathan Ford had to do was wait, and wait he did. The young man from District Twelve watched as each of the five Career campground members rose for the day. James and Marcus were both awake within moments of each other. Then Marcus' fellow tribute from District Four was wide awake. The girl from District Three rose to her feet moments later and began to look over the perimeter carefully. The girl from District Two continued to sleep as if nothing else in the world happened.

Then Nate took notice of another tribute in the campground. Well, she was above it. The girl from District Seven was lazily standing in the branch above the sack of apples with hunger on her lips. Her intention was highly obvious. She was going to steal the apples.

Nate shrugged at that. His plan would not be deterred by her stealing. In fact, he was going to give her a gentle warning when the coast was clear. Right now, both tributes had to wait for the Careers to leave. It didn't take long after that either. The Career tributes left their clearing in a careful single file line. Nate could have picked them off one by one but that was stupid. They were down to the final eight and they would pick themselves off soon enough. He wasn't going to hurry along that process.

Once the small group of Careers was gone, the girl from District Seven stared down at the only tribute left. The girl from District Two was still sleeping like a baby. At least that's what it looked like. The girl from District Seven didn't seem so sure though.

She quickly picked up a twig and threw it off into the woods. She was right. The girl from District Two immediately rose to her feet and looked around in preparation for an attack. The girl from District Seven shrugged and threw another branch. The Career turned towards the noise and grinned. She slowly worked her way out of the clearing and headed in the direction of the noise, her knife glinting all the while.

The girl from District Seven stifled a laugh and quickly went to work securing a couple of apples. She collected them and quickly jumped through the trees as if nothing happened. Nate watched her go with a smile on his lips. Now he was going to implement his plan.

Nate slowly pulled out one of the practice arrows he made and aimed towards the sack of apples. He drew back his arm and released the arrow. The self-made arrow penetrated the sack of apples with a small slit just big enough for an apple to get stuck in. The first arrow was not enough. So, Nate placed another arrow against the quiver and fired off. This arrow widened the hole just enough for two apples to slide into the hole. The fabric was even tearing. Nate smiled wide and unleashed a third arrow. It hit its mark even better than the last one and the apples tumbled down.

Boom!

The ball of fire that erupted from the mines was monstrous to see as well as hear. It was hot and powerful. In fact, Nate felt himself slam into the trunk of the tree from the force of the blow. His head was swimming and his eyes went cross-eyed it was such a powerful push back. Then the fire ball suddenly ended and the world was too quiet to be believed. The young man from District Twelve winced at the pain in his head and moved to the other side of the tree. His vision went blurry around the edges and he immediately welcomed the darkness that begged for his arrival.

%

Sophie awoke to a fuzzy feeling in her head and a weird taste in her mouth. She groggily felt around her sleeping bag for the way out and noticed her breath was the only thing she could hear. She sat up quickly and then wished she hadn't. Her head still hurt but it wasn't from the bump at the back of her head. This pain was drug induced. She was dehydrated.

The girl quickly found her pack and took a drink from her water bottle. It was nearly empty but that didn't really matter. She realized what was wrong with the cave. Nate was gone. His sleeping form was not lying beside her and it was absolutely disturbing. Ordinarily she would have just thought he was out fishing but his sleeping bag and most of his supplies were still there. The only thing missing was him and his pack.

Sophie quickly clambered out of her sleeping bag with every intention of chasing after the boy in search of him. Then she took notice of the basket carefully surrounded by ice packs and rocks. Her frown of fear quickly changed to a scowl of annoyance and disgust. She just remembered what happened. Nate had drugged her so he could do something stupid. She was going to kill him.

The girl sat down beside the basket and noted that most of the food was still in there from however many nights before. In fact the only things missing were the biscuit she ate, a chicken leg and the silver tin. Sophie smiled despite herself. Nate left her everything in case she was hungry. The bastard. The young woman from District One slowly made her way outside to get herself some water. Then she heard a twig snap and immediately raised her knife. She turned towards the source of the sound and nearly screamed.

Nate hobbled closer with his eyes crossed in pain. He looked bone tired and like he hadn't slept in days. Sophie wondered how long she'd been out and then assessed the boy's clothes. They were torn in places and there was most definitely blood stains in spots. Sophie immediately bit back her concern because he was not going to get off that easily. She quickly grabbed his hand and led him to the stream. She made no sound as they walked and just finished taking care of herself. Nate at least had the decency to look ashamed.

"Today we're going to work on finding roots," Sophie explained to him in the sweetest voice she had. She knew how to get payback and she was going to do it immediately. His behavior from before was unacceptable. He needed to learn that now before it became a habit.

"Sophie, I haven't slept a week since the mines knocked me out," Nate complained. It was the truth too. His eyes were red rimmed and he looked about ready to fall over at any minute. She would have none of it though. He needed to learn his lesson before she would take care of him like he needed to be taken care of.

"You're learning roots whether you like it or not," Sophie growled towards him with a smile. "You're on my time now."

Nate groaned but nodded his head. Then he winced at the movement because of his concussion. She would have to take a look at that later. Right now it was time for punishment.

"Come on," she said, "We're not going far."

She easily dodged the traps he set and waited for him to remove them. She watched as his careful fingers gently untied every knot and he refused to show any signs of weakness in front of her. The boy was swaying from side to side every time they stopped, but he kept up with her anyway. He knew he was in trouble. That was a good sign.

"See what you can find," Sophie ordered when she found some digging marks left over from some squirrels. At least she hoped they were squirrel tracks. She was getting sick and tired of mutts hanging around.

Nate did as told without complaint. He immediately kneeled to the ground and began shoving his hands into it. He scowled at the wetness of mud on his hands and immediately went towards the stream. He plunged his hands into it and felt something rub against them. He pulled on the rubbing thing and stared. He was holding a blue potato in his hand.

"Sophie," Nate called out softly. The girl just stared at him with alarm because his voice was really scratchy and he slurred her name a bit. "I found some poisoned potatoes!"

"That's a Katniss, Nate," Sophie corrected with a giggle. She couldn't help it. His lack of plant knowledge and the slurring of his words was just too funny. So she giggled a bit. "Alright, let's get you back to the cave and clean you up," she quickly brushed his hair out of his face and smiled at him, "I think you've learned your lesson. I'll even make you some Katniss stew for dinner if all of the food is gone by then."

"I'm really sorry for putting hurting you," Nate nodded in reply. The guilt swimming in his eyes was enough to confirm his words.

"I know," Sophie smiled gently, "Let's get you taken care of. You can teach me arrows later on."

%

"Alright, now stand straight," Nate slowly moved around the girl from District One and worked to correct any errors. She had good posture and her arm was extended properly. It was the one pulling the string that was causing her problems.

"Here," Nate stood behind her and immediately set to work, pulling her arm back exactly as he always would. The arrow hit the mark perfectly. "You're still too tense when you draw back. You need to loosen up a bit."

"Well if you would stop scrutinizing every single little thing I do I might actually be able to do it!" Sophie growled in frustration. She looked pretty close to throwing the bow down and stomping on it. He'd never seen her so frustrated in the entire few weeks they had spent in the games. It was a new experience for them both.

"Calm down," Nate rolled his eyes at her behavior. He had to work hard to bite back the laugh that wanted to escape his lips. Laughing would be doing no favors for him and what they were trying to achieve. Of course it didn't help that he was so amused by her hot temper.

"Don't tell me to calm down!" Sophie barked at him reproachfully. She had venom in her eyes and looked ready to kill. She almost threw the bow down in her frustration towards him. "I'm trying to learn and all you're telling me is what I'm doing wrong. How about telling me what I'm doing right? Maybe I'll actually be able to listen!"

She did have a point. He wasn't going to tell her that though. It had only been a few days since his discovery of Katniss. In fact, he had forced the poor girl to make him Katniss for every meal once their other food supply ran out. He was man enough to admit he was addicted to them. It was officially his favorite food.

Nate took a deep breath and lifted Sophie's chin up a bit. "Picture yourself throwing a knife when you draw back," he said, "See if that helps."

Sophie did as instructed and the arrow fell to the ground a few feet away. She scowled at the arrow and then raised her head towards him. The scowl deepened and her hands found her hips. "It doesn't work," she said.

"I can see that," Nate raised both eyebrows at that. He needed to come up with a new strategy. Making her angry enough to kill only seemed to be doing worse. At least the arrow actually released from the bow this time. Before it just fell to the ground at her feet.

"Here," Nate came up from behind her and immediately felt her muscle's tense. "Stop doing that. You need to be loose as a goose. You won't be able to do anything if you keep tightening up. Relax."

"How am I supposed to relax when you're standing right behind me?" Sophie hissed towards him. Her temper was back and that was exactly what he didn't want to do.

"Relax," Nate gently put his hands on the girl's shoulders and started rubbing tiny circles into them. The reaction was immediate. Sophie's muscles loosened and the tingling sensation started to fill the tips of his fingers. Then the girl's body started leaning against his and causing the tingling all over.

Nate stepped back immediately and Sophie looked back at him in confusion. "Now try," Nate coughed. He refused to meet her eyes. He was going to focus solely on the target and not on the soft feel of the girl's skin.

Sophie took a deep breath and drew the arrow back. She took one look at Nate and then quickly looked back at the target. She released the quiver and arrow made a bulls-eye.

"I hit it!" Sophie shouted in glee. She immediately wrapped her arms around Nate and squeezed tight. Then she pushed him away and started clapping gleefully.

"You did indeed," Nate grinned at her. There was something in the way they were acting that felt different than before. Nate and Sophie could both feel it.

Nate could feel the dramatic pull towards the girl and how all he wanted was that tingly sensation all over. Sophie just stared at him in shock of the way the boy seemed to gravitate towards her. It was a delicious idea, so was taking a bite out of those lips of his.

A twig snapped and the trance was broken. Nate looked around and zeroed in on a specific spot. He signaled Sophie to inform her of his plan. He felt, more than saw, her head nod in agreement. The pair slowly walked into the woods and Nate held up his hand. Sophie stopped immediately and waited for further instructions. Nate continued down the trail with his eyes peeled for danger. The last thing they needed was an ambush out of revenge.

The young man from District Twelve slowly crept deeper and deeper into the woods. Sophie stayed near the edge and waited for the signal. Neither one were aware of the girl from District Seven in the trees, watching them. They were even unaware of the other Careers lying in wait.

A small hoot sounded and they attacked. The girl from District Seven swooped down from above and landed squarely on the boy. She cackled and jabbed her knife at him as much as possible. Nate fought her off as best as he could but it was no use. She was causing too much damage.

"Nate!" Sophie screamed in alarm when she saw the female tribute from District Seven stab him in the shoulder. She snipped an arrow into the girl's throat out of vengeance. She then took two arrows and shot them at the two people coming towards them on opposite sides. Three canons sounded and the girl couldn't help but hope that her friend was still alive. She heard the slight crinkle of leaves and raised her quiver for the kill. It was James lunging with his spear towards Nate's back.

The arrow zoomed through the air and caught James in the head. The male tribute of district one fell back from the force and his spear missed its target by inches. James' canon fired off.

Sophie didn't mourn her horrid deed. She saw the blood and headed right towards it. She picked Nate up as best she could and half-carried half-dragged him towards their little safety zone. She did her best to distort the trail they left behind before she decided treatment was a better idea. There were only two more tributes left. They would wait for better light.

Nate looked so pale against the crimson red of his blood. This was a worrying sign. He was losing too much blood. Sophie quickly cut away at her jacket and started making bandages to staunch it. She found the leaves she had told Nate were good for extracting poisons and quickly inserted them to make certain he would be safe. She found a plant that reminded her of dental floss and broke off one of her latches on her pin and quickly sterilized it. She put the floss through the needle and began to patch up the shoulder as best as she could. She needed to save him. He was supposed to win the hunger games. He was supposed to be saving her.

%

Nate groaned when he finally came to. There was a pulsing ache in his shoulder and his back didn't feel much better. The girl from district three stabbed him. He remembered that. He was doing something else. It was something important and impossible to describe. It made him happy. What was he…? He was teaching… "Sophie!"

Sophie didn't respond to his call and that worried him so he sat up. They were back in the cave that was their shelter. It was raining, hard. There wasn't any water getting in but that didn't really matter. Nate could see the roof and floor Sophie had made while he was out. Sophie was at the mouth of the cave staring at the water puddles splashing around. He called her name again, but she still didn't respond. She stared off into space. He noticed the tears and said nothing as he climbed his way beside her. He knew that's where he needed to be.

"How long have I been out?" Nate questioned instead. He knew she wouldn't enjoy him bringing up the crystals pouring from her brown eyes.

"A few days," Sophie reported simply. There was no emotion in her silvery voice and it was frightening. "It's been raining the entire time."

"You built this in the rain?" Nate asked with wide eyes, his hands automatically reaching towards her. She pulled away and shrugged.

"Yeah," was her only reply.

Nate lunged towards her and grappled with her until a fierce pain erupted in his shoulder. He yelped at the pressure but ignored it as best he could. He could feel the heat bouncing off of her in waves. She was sick and needed his help. He wasn't going to rest until she got it.

"I shot James," Sophie muttered out just as he succeeded in getting her on the floor. Her fever made her just weak enough where she couldn't fight him off. But it was the words that managed to win her the battle.

"What?" Nate stared at her in confusion. James was her fellow tribute from district one. Why would she shoot him now?

"He was going to kill you," Sophie whimpered towards him with tears cascading down her cheeks. She looked deathly pale and like she had just given up on the games. This was not good.

"Why didn't you let him kill me?" Nate demanded briskly. He couldn't help but shake her with his rage. He was angry with her for a reason he couldn't possibly understand. The rage was beating through his chest and head and refused to be caged. He didn't understand it but he knew it had something to do with the fact that she saved him.

"I couldn't," She cried out with more tears. She felt floppy in his hands. It was as if she was a pancake full of batter. She was slipping through his hands despite the strong grip he held. He was losing her in a way he had never expected.

"Why?" Nate demanded with another violent shake. He couldn't understand it. She chose him over James. "Why didn't you leave me to die? Why didn't you choose him? Why me?"

"I don't know," Sophie screamed out with more tears pouring from her hollow eyes. She was in a bad state and he needed to snap her out of it. She just betrayed her own district for him.

"Oh God," Nate groaned in misery. He knew why he was angry. She betrayed her district for him. She couldn't win now. She would die the moment she returned home. The entire district would make certain of it. "You idiot! You stupid, stupid girl!" She had just condemned herself to death for him.

"I'm sorry," Sophie explained in a tiny whisper. Her fever wasn't as bad as he thought. It was just a minor cold. She would be fine. Well, until the end of the hunger games she would be.

"It's alright," Nate kissed her warm forehead reassuringly. He used his good arm to hold her tight while his other arm rubbed circles in her back. He spoke comforting words into her ear while he continued to sooth her. He kissed her cheek and hair and muttered words of encouragement. He kissed her neck and shoulder babbling on about how everything would get better. He kissed her lips and his brain stopped. She was kissing back and he felt his whole chest fill with bliss. He didn't care where he was at the moment. She was the only thing that mattered.

"Nate!" Sophie snapped back just enough for air. "We can't."

"I know," Nate nodded because he understood everything she meant. It wasn't safe for them anymore. She had betrayed her district for him and he was going to lose her. The Capitol was watching their every move and they couldn't share anything else. A kiss would be the only thing they would be allowed. Everything else would never be. This would be their last time together. They were enemies after this moment. They had to be.


	12. The Final Four

**A/N:** _This was fun!_

Nate awoke to a fuzzy feeling in his brain and a weird taste in his mouth. It was kind of like cotton. At least that's what he thought cotton tasted like. He wasn't exactly familiar with the material's taste. He usually only wore the fabric. His entire thinking process was getting weirder and weirder every minute. He really needed a drink of water.

The boy sat up and took note of the fact that he was alone. He didn't know why but that wasn't a good thing. His gut even protested the fact that there was nobody else breathing in the same room with him. He rubbed at his eyes and chalked it up to loneliness. He had been playing in the games for a little over a month now. He was bound to be lonely.

The young man, for he was no longer truly a boy now, moved to his left and sighed in relief. His shoulder was almost healed. Sophie had placed one of her healing green leaves on it and the shoulder was moving exactly like it was supposed to. He needed to thank Sophie for…

"Sophie!" Nate shouted out in sudden realization.

He rose to his feet and felt pain fill his head in double time. He flung his hands towards the painful area and growled at the rock above his head. He was still in the cave and the tribute from District One was nowhere to be found. And neither were his arrows. That only meant one thing.

"Please don't go after them!" Nate howled into the air.

He quickly grabbed his bag and checked his supplies. He was almost out of food. Sophie had left him the biscuits and the empty serum vial. She had probably been gone for a while if that puppy was empty. He wasn't home so he hadn't won yet. That was good. He needed to get to Sophie. Everything else could wait; unless he was out of water.

Nate shook his water bottle and scowled at its emptiness. Naturally Sophie would empty it just to make certain he couldn't follow her as soon as he woke up. The young man scowled at the girl's brilliance and immediately raced towards the stream.

It was dry.

"Dammit Sophie!" Nate shouted towards the air. He was pissed now. His girl was out there hunting the other tributes and he was being forced to go towards the lake. That meant the tributes from District Four were still alive.

Nate scowled towards the cameras one more time and carefully looked at the weapons he had. Two of Sophie's training arrows and her knives that was all he had. He would use them to his advantage. He had to. If the two tributes from District Four hurt his Sophie, they were going to die slowly. The young man rushed off in the direction of the Cornucopia with death and protection on his mind.

%

Sophie stayed well-hidden in her tree with the bow and arrows as she watched the District Four tributes carefully. It had only been a few days since she left Nathan behind. She remembered how easy it was to distract him. It had been almost too easy. She was downright frightened by how easy it was. It had felt so wrong too but it was necessary. It was so very necessary.

"We'll separate in the morning," Nate promised with a firm nod. His arms were still wrapped tightly, possessively around her in hopes of never letting go.

She just nodded her head and placed it on his shoulder. The plan was already forming in her mind. The serum was in his bag and she knew there was enough to knock him out for a while. The key was getting to it. She didn't know how or even when but she knew she was going to get that serum. She had a new plan now. She was going to win him the games. That was all that mattered. She was going to win Nathan Ford the games by going after the tributes of District Four before he did. She would take them out and then she would stab herself. It was the perfect plan and he would not ruin it.

So, the girl did the only thing she could think of. She kissed him. She delightedly placed her lips on his mouth and worked her tongue through his lips. She pressed her hands against his chest and pushed him towards the bags. Nate just let her because his hands were too busy memorizing every strand of her hair and every inch of her back. He was bound to figure out her plan soon. She just had to be faster.

Sophie maneuvered the both of them so they were against the cave wall. The bags were right beside them and she carefully used that to her advantage. She pushed Nate to the side a bit and chased after him with her mouth. His hungry hands were on new territory now. They were on her thighs and touching them with worship and gentle care. She ignored the fabulous tingle he was causing and pulled his bag towards her.

Her lips fell to his neck and he began to moan at the contact. She smiled against his skin despite herself because it really was thrilling to find out she could do that to him. She turned back on his lips for a moment, forgetting her task to revel in his lips. Then she felt the bag scrape against her knee and remembered her goal. She returned to his neck and used the distraction to look through his belongings. The job was becoming more difficult because his persistent mouth kept coming back to claim her lips and his hands were rubbing up and down her legs. Then she found the serum and grinned.

The young woman from District One pulled the vial towards her and quickly opened it behind his back. Nate's lips were drawing a pattern on her neck and there was a great spark building inside of her. She needed him to stop for her plan to succeed. He was too distracting now and that was a problem.

"I know what you're doing," Nate whispered huskily into her ear.

Sophie had no doubt that that was true. In fact, she was dead positive he was aware of her plans. He wasn't doing a very good job of stopping her though. So she pushed him up against the wall again and proceeded to go after his water bottle. She poured the serum in and shook it with all her might. Phase one of her plan was now complete.

"I'm thirsty," she said, pulling away from his tasty lips and immediately going after her water bottle. Phase two was now underway.

"What are you up to?" Nate asked distractedly, picking up his bottle and watching her with weary eyes.

Sophie just smiled demurely and took a swig of her drink. It was all she could do to keep herself from giving her plan away. He had to be too distracted by her to even register the taste on his tongue. She had to seduce him into drinking from his bottle. It was the only way her plan would work.

Nate watched her carefully with narrowed eyes. His bottle of water lifted to his mouth and poured past his lips immediately. He drank as if he had been dying of thirst. She couldn't help but smile at that. She made him drink like that. She made him thirsty.

"What's your plan?" Nate asked softly. His bottle was now half-way through but he needed to drink all of it. The serum was diluted with the water and all of it would guarantee her plan's success.

"It wouldn't be a plan if I told you that," Sophie countered with a wider grin. She quickly took another sip of her water to cool off. She was suddenly having very bad thoughts that were just too distracting for her own good. Her plan would only succeed if she could pull away. The space was definitely becoming a very good thing.

"Come here and kiss me," Nate demanded gently. He was inching closer and closer, his eyes glazed with hunger.

Sophie backed away playfully and took another drink from her water. She was definitely going to need to refuel before she went after their enemies. She could understand why he was so thirsty, she was too. So she shook her head and continued to drink.

Nate stared at her in surprise for a few minutes before a crooked smile formed on his lips. He finished off his bottle in ten seconds flat and was suddenly way too close. Sophie squeezed her water bottle in surprise he was so close. Then he grinned and she scowled. His bright blue eyes darted towards her lips and Sophie felt her head nodding at his silent question. Then the young man's lips claimed hers again and Heaven had arrived.

Then Nate passed out in her arms.

Sophie sighed in confusion of the sudden change and kissed him on the back of the head. She gently moved him into his sleeping bag, giving a chaste kiss on the lips as she went. She organized everything and left him some food. By the time she was finished it looked like she hadn't even been there at all, except for the floor and roof. The girl from District One gave her man another kiss on the lips in good-bye and left without a look back.

Now she was sitting in a tree near the Cornucopia calculating the time until she died. It would be sad if it wasn't for such a good cause. Nathan Ford seemed to be worth it and more. Sophie could live with that decision. She probably shouldn't have stolen his arrows but that was no big deal. She had left him with a few weapons in case he woke up early. The game makers even drained the stream yesterday so she had to be there. She was almost out of water and the end of the games was about to begin.

She just hoped she wouldn't have to see the look of betrayal in Nate's eyes when she finished the games.

%

Marcus and the girl tribute, Sophie didn't really know her name so she called her Foxface. The girl didn't even really have a fox like face. Her eyes just had the same twinkle as most of the foxes she knew. Besides, the girl with the fox face died when she stabbed Nate.

So Marcus and Foxface were gathering supplies for the epic battle ahead of them. They were both unaware of Sophie's presence and that was exactly what the girl wanted. She just had to wait until the perfect opportunity to strike. She had been practicing her aim and distance while away from Nate. He would have been proud of her too. She had managed to hit a pheasant from thirty feet away. With the height of the tree she had a better distance. She was currently fifty feet away and already raising her bow, Nate's bow. She pulled the string back and waited for her prey to turn a little bit more to the left.

A twig snapped and Sophie loosed the arrow too soon. It fell into Foxface's thigh and the girl screamed in pain. Marcus immediately went into action and raced towards the tree. There was fiery fury in the boy's eyes and Sophie quickly worked on getting another arrow into the bow. Luck was not on her side though.

Just as she achieved anchoring her arrow to the bow the tree branch decided to snap. The girl and her supplies found their way to the ground in a matter of seconds. Well, the girl's supplies did fall to the floor. Sophie was immediately snatched away into Marcus' arms without Nate's trusty bow.

"Thought you escaped from me didn't ya?" Marcus whispered cunningly in her ears.

Sophie felt bile rise up in her throat at the thrilled note in his tone. He sounded hungry. Marcus jumped down from the tree and Sophie kicked for freedom. Marcus' grip slowly grew tighter and tighter at her frantic motions.

"Find him!" Marcus shouted towards his fellow tribute in anger, "He has to be the one to snap that twig!"

Foxface just nodded her head and hobbled in the direction of the forest. At least she tried to. Sophie managed to get free long enough to embed one of Marcus' knives into the girl's back. She fell immediately at the impact and her canon sounded.

Sophie cried in triumph and immediately felt pain flare up and down her side. Marcus was standing over her with dark, evil eyes and a sick, sadistic smile on his face. He was pushing her painfully into the ground and drew another of his knives. The thing sparkled in the setting sun and gave an ominous glow of death and despair.

"You've really pissed me off now," he said. Then he proceeded to increase the amount of pressure he had on her arm. He was lowering himself on top of her with his knife glinting towards her stomach. The blade touched the fabric on her clothes and began to move sideways.

"No!" Sophie screamed in alarm. She knew exactly what the boy was going to do.

The girl kicked and pushed with all of her might. Marcus just laughed and kept pressure on her arm. His knife was now working its way towards her hip. In fact, the vicious thing was now painfully ripping her pants from the ankles up. Sophie screamed at the fire in her leg the boy was causing. There was blood dripping from the knife when he pulled away but the boy didn't care. He wasn't finished with his torture yet.

"I'm going after your sweetheart next," Marcus promised icily. His eyes were now dark holes of lust and death. His grin was one of victory and the smell of blood was everywhere on him.

Sophie screamed against and beat against the boy's chest with tears in her eyes. She had failed. She was going to save her Nate and win the games for him. Instead she was going to die at the hands of their greatest enemy and Marcus was going to kill him. Well Marcus was going to try. The girl only hoped that her dead body would be exactly what Nate needed to win the games.

%

Nate felt the piercing scream in his bones as soon as he heard them. He knew who was screaming without even needing to see it. His Sophie was in trouble and he was going to do everything in his power to stop it from happening. He would not lose Sophie. That was where he drew the line. The Capitol could do all it wanted to him. They were not allowed to take Sophie.

So he ran towards the tree he witnessed Sophie fall from. It was his fault she missed her target. He knew it was. He had been stupid and stepped on a twig. He wanted to be the distraction she needed and she missed. He was not going to fail her again.

Nate ran for the tree at top speed and nearly collapsed in his efforts. The arrows were all there but the bow… the bow was shattered in half. It would do nothing to help him save Sophie. It was useless. His trusty bow was no more and he was about to lose the most precious thing in the world because of it. Sophie screamed again and his blood went cold.

There in the middle of the clearing, Marcus was on top of Sophie with his bloodied knife raised for torture. Blood and lust were emblazoned in his eyes and Nate knew the next place the knife was going. Marcus was getting rid of the clothes. That was not going to happen on his watch. Marcus was not going to torture Sophie so brutally when Nathan James Ford had something to do about it. This was war.

Nate picked up the first stick he could find and charged. He raced towards the dueling couple at the speed of light. He didn't even stop to think about his actions when Marcus looked up with wide eyes. He just swung his stick as fiercely as possible. Marcus immediately flew off of the girl and fell a few feet away.

Nate nodded his head and immediately turned towards his girl. "You okay?" He asked. He held out his hand to help her to her feet but she pointed behind him.

"Behind you," she screamed and Nate felt a huge pain erupt in his barely healed shoulder. He turned around and wacked the knife out of his enemy's hands.

Marcus just smiled and drew another knife. "I see I'm going to have to kill you before I get a bite out of your delectable girlfriend then," he said.

Nate felt the rage build up in his chest like fire on over-dried wood. He screamed in disgust and immediately punched the guy in the nose for his outburst. He then followed through by wrestling that scowling knife out of his arms and elbowing him in the face. Marcus was going to die a slow and painful death now. Nobody attacked Sophie and then insult her in his presence. NO, the young man from District Twelve was going to teach the whole of Panem exactly what happens when they insult Sophie Devereaux. Nobody fought to protect her from these games. Nate was going to fight to protect her from Marcus Starke and the Capitol.

Nate knocked the kid to the ground and fell with him. Marcus returned with a kick of his own and a quick jab in the nose. Nate's head went backwards at the horrible move and Marcus twirled them around. Nate's head slammed into the ground roughly and he felt grungy, scabby, blistered hands wrap around his exposed throat. Air was being taken away from his lungs and Marcus was grinning from ear to ear in hungry exhilaration. Nate struggled against the boy as much as he could but it was already too late. His injuries hadn't healed enough for him to continue to fight. His vision was going pale around the edges and Marcus was soon all he could see. He was drowning in a sea of inclosing darkness and it didn't matter anymore. He had failed Sophie.

Marcus' hands suddenly ripped away from Nate and moved towards his back. His charcoal eyes of evil were wide with fear and he was reaching towards his back frantically. Nate watched this while taking deep, wonderful breaths of air. His chest was on fire but he didn't care. He was alive and Marcus was having a fidgeting fight above him. Then the boy from District Four's eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slumped forward, crushing Nate in the process. The pain was so much that Nate nearly missed the distant sound of a canon firing. He grunted at the pain and immediately set to work on pushing the dead guy off. It was easier than expected.

"Are you alright?" Sophie demanded immediately. Her face popped into view the moment Marcus was off of Nate. Tears were streaking her cheeks and her clothes were soaked in blood. She was still the most beautiful thing in the world.

"I'm fine, Sophie," Nate smiled warmly at her lively appearance, "Thanks for taking care of him."

Sophie extended her hand to help him up and the young man gladly took it. Nate rose to his feet with the lovely pain of air filling his lungs and the most beautiful woman in the world within arm's reach.

"I'm sorry I drugged you," Sophie slammed herself into his arms as she spoke. Nate felt more icy tears falling on his neck and pulled the girl tighter despite the pain. Everything hurt but Sophie was alive. That was all that mattered.

Then the familiar music of the Capitol began to play. Nate and Sophie looked up in astonishment and watched the Capitol crest spin in the sky. Claudius Templesmith's horrendous face appeared on the screen.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Templesmith explained, "We are now down to the final two. Get your betting slips ready, folks, because it's between District One's adorable sweetheart Sophie Devereaux and District Twelve's homecoming King Nathan Ford. Who will win? May the odds be in your favorite's favor!"

Then the evil bastard's face disappeared with the Capitol crest. The sky returned and silence filled the arena. Nate looked towards Sophie in horror and felt his entire world crumble into fiery ashes. He had gotten his wish. He was up against Sophie Devereaux in the final two.

"No!" Sophie choked out. She jumped away from him and clasped her hands over her mouth in horror. Tears were falling from her eyes in double now.

"It's alright," Nate nodded with a sad smile. "Everything's fine."

"Final two, Nate," Sophie clenched her teeth and tried to think of the next step. She didn't understand why it was so hard to remember what it was. It had something to do with Nate and getting him out.

"Don't," Nate ordered with his hand quickly covering the knife she knew was going to be plunged into her own heart. That had been her plan. Her sacrifice meant his salvation.

"Nate," Sophie began to argue before his lips crashed into hers feverishly. Apparently he didn't want her to die and decided this was how it would end. It didn't make any sense.

"Good-bye," Nate whispered against her lips before he raised his knife high for the kill. He started to bring it down and felt the tight squeeze on his chest. He missed. "No!"

"I… couldn't," Sophie whimpered through the pain as she stayed clinging to the man's chest for dear life. She felt her knees knock into the ground before she was engulfed in his arms. She wasn't sure whose legs gave out though. She thought it might have been hers.

"No!" Nate moaned when his fingers pulled away with blood. It was spewing from her back like a stream after a storm. He stabbed her. He was aiming for his heart and got hers instead. He should have known.

"Shh," Sophie ordered with a violent spasm that had to hurt everything more. She could already feel herself losing consciousness. It was nice.

"No!" Nate bit back angrily. It was then that girl knew true horror. She felt his right arm move and then she was suddenly horizontal and on top of him.

"Nate!" Sophie screamed out with everything that was left. She managed to wobbly lift herself up just enough to make out the knife in his gut. She felt her entire body chill at the knowledge.

"Nate!" She watched the blood spew out of her mouth with the scream. She could taste the iron on her tongue. It didn't matter. Nate was barely breathing. She had to get him breathing.

"Nate!" Her screams were sounding wet now. She could no longer tell if it was because she was dying or because she was crying. Her world was filled with blood and Nate. Nothing else mattered.

"Nate!" She barely heard the hovercraft above her coughing gasp. Her hand was yanking out the knife and holding in his blood. She felt Nate's blood on her hands and willed it to go back in. He needed to live. That was all she cared about.

"Nate!" She heard herself scream as white pulled into her blurry, bloody vision. She felt herself go up but she could see her legs still kicking. She needed Nate and they were taking her away. She struggled and pulled with all of her might but all she could see were her legs kicking white and Nate going away. They were taking Nate away from her and she would not have that. She saw her legs and arms kicking and thrashing against the white, a flash of red; then black.


	13. The End For Now

Nate awoke to a world of white. Then the events that landed him in this situation came to mind. The eighteen year old bolted out of bed in a panic. He had to get to Sophie. He had to make certain she was alright. The last image he saw was her limp body being pulled away from him. Her blood had been staining the white suits of the peacemakers and he tried to reach out to her but black had taken him. He had to find her. She was the only thing he had left. She was everything. He needed to get out and find her.

Nathan twirled around the room in search of an exit. He couldn't see any so he just decided to test out the walls. He knew one of them had to have a hidden door. He frantically tried to tap the walls to find a weakness. Soon his impatience finally got to him though. He slammed himself into the walls like a crazy person. He banged on everything and shouted with all of his might. He needed to find Sophie. He didn't care about anything else. He was willing to do anything for her.

Finally, the avox who waited on him before the games entered the room. Nate grinned when he saw the entry way and raced towards it with all his might. Hurley caught him by the shoulders and stopped him though.

"No!" Nate begged of the avox desperately as the door pinged close. "Sophie! I have to find Sophie! I have to know if she's alright!"

Hurley put his finger to his lips and shook his head vigorously.

"No!" Nate huffed towards the avox as he slammed into his shoulder again, "She needs me! You don't understand! I have to find her!"

Hurley just calmly placed him back on the bed and continued shaking his head. He then pointed to his shoulder and mimicked a syringe before gesturing to his tribute charge in return.

"She's dead isn't she?" Nate sighed before the syringe could be applied to his limbs, "That's why you won't let me see her!"

The avox blinked at the desperate statement before he quickly shook his head in the negative. He then plunged the syringe into the boyman's shoulder without a moment of warning.

"She's not dead?" Nate asked desperately as the sedative started to take effect.

The avox shook his head no again with a gentle smile on his face. He knew exactly what the boy was thinking.

"She's not dead," Nate sighed in relief before the sedative finally knocked him out.

%

The next time Nate woke up, he was latched to the bed. He couldn't move and he saw nothing but machines surrounding him on all sides. There was a blue liquid pumping into his veins and a mask was on top of his face. He struggled against his restraints a little bit until he felt a little prick in his finger and heard the sounds of a gas hissing into the air. His vision began to speckle and his mind drifted to Sophie again. He smiled at the image of sunlight in her hair and the familiar sound of her laugh as he fell back into sleep.

%

"No more!" Nate begged the next time he awoke.

"Don't worry," a fantastically familiar voice informed him with an air of glee. "You're done. It's all over."

"Tara!" Nate sighed in relief as his favorite stylist finally appeared into his vision.

"Nate," Tara smiled back ecstatically, "You won the hunger games."

"Sophie!" Nate shouted in worry the moment those words slipped out of her mouth, "I have to find Sophie!"

"Don't worry!" Tara stopped him before he could even think about making a move, "She's fine!"

"She's okay?" Nate stared at her in disbelief, "She's fine? Sophie's alive? The Capitol let her live too?"

"She's fine," Tara confirmed with a sad smile and a nod. "She won the hunger games too."

"She's okay," Nate grinned foolishly at the news. "My Sophie's okay!"

"Only you, Nathan Ford," Tara rolled her eyes at the boy's thoughts, "Would come to the hunger games to fall in love."

"Hey, I didn't come looking for love," Nate argued before he could even process the words pouring from his mouth. "It found me."

"At least you admit it," Tara sighed at the blunt honesty coming from her charge. "Are you ready for your costume?"

"What's Sophie wearing?" Nate demanded quizzically. There had never been two victors of the hunger games before. He wasn't exactly sure how it worked.

"That's for you to find out," Tara replied sharply to the young man's thoughts. "I'm sorry about Maggie."

"Maggie's in a better place," Nate swallowed at the unwelcome memory pouring through his mind. "But thanks."

"Here," Tara handed him his outfit with a few tears at this. "I figured we'd go young man this time around instead."

"Thanks," Nate smiled shyly as he stared at his suit in surprise. "Sophie'll love it."

"Let's hope so," Tara nodded at the thought. "Hurry up! Your post-game interview is almost up. The sooner you get into your outfit, the sooner you…"

"Get to see Sophie," Nate cheered as he matched step with her already dressed perfectly in his excitement to see the tribute from district one already.

"Wow," Tara smirked at the eager display, "I guess I'll leave you to your pod."

"I'll see you again, right?" Nate stared at his designer in sadness, "For the victory tour?"

"Of course," Tara smiled at the reminder as she pulled him into an unexpected hug, "Good-bye Nate! You take good care of her!"

"I will," Nate promised as they left the embrace and he stood on his panel.

"Up you go," Tara waved towards him before the glass container encircled him and brought him towards the surface. The platform rose higher and higher until all that was left was the air, the audience and a stage.

Nate stared at the stage in desperate search of Sophie. He knew he wouldn't be able to go on without her. He had to know she was safe. He refused to take another step until she was safe.

She appeared on stage on the pillar across from him. She was wearing a simple yellow dress with intricate white beads in the skirt. She was a Greek Goddess. She looked like a caged animal the way she was hungrily searching the stage. Her eyes fell upon him in disbelief. Nate raced towards her with open arms. Sophie jumped into them not even a second after he stopped. They somehow managed to meet on center stage and the crowd was eating it up. They had defied the odds and became victors of the hunger games together. They survived.

Sophie started to pull away but Nate held on tight. He wasn't letting her out of his sight again. He spent too long without her to lose her now. He needed her with him. She belonged by his side.

"I was so scared," Sophie whispered when she realized exactly what was going on. "They wouldn't let me see you!"

"I asked for you every time I was awake," Nate promised as his heart clenched at the tears in her eyes. "They had to chain me to the bed in order to get me to take treatment."

"They roped me to the bed too," Sophie stared at him in disbelief. "I think I bit one of the doctors when they brought me back to the room. They wouldn't let me see you!"

"Shh," Nate tugged her into a soothing embrace before he took notice of the cameras pointed towards them in eager anticipation. "We've got an audience to entertain but I promise I won't let you out of my sight for another minute longer."

"Hold me the whole time?" Sophie begged of him with wide eyes.

"Of course," Nate nodded as he kindly escorted her to the love seat and made a big show of squeezing her to his hip without a care in the world at the laughs it received.

"Ooh," Caesar smiled at the couple moment in glee, "I see you two don't want to be separated for a minute!"

"No!" Nate laughed at the thought as he tucked Sophie against him even more just because.

"Well," Caesar laughed at the pair before his face started to grow serious. "Let me ask you a couple of questions then."

"Ask away," Nate ordered in complete joy. Sophie didn't seem able to speak now. During the interviews she had been the one doing all the talking. Now, words seemed to be running away from her mouth and leaving her behind. The questions kept coming but she was doing everything in her power to redirect the questions to him. Nate merely smiled because he was only too happy to answer them. He couldn't stop talking apparently.

"Now, Sophie," Caesar directed towards the district one champion with an important air to his voice. "When did you first realize that the boy from district twelve you selected as an ally was starting to become something more to you?"

"Oh," Sophie ducked her head at the question and her cheeks began to turn a very vibrant red in embarrassment, "I don't know."

"Oh come on," Caesar pressed with a smile, "You can tell us. We can keep a secret."

"Well," Sophie gulped and started to move away from Nate for some strange reason. "In all honesty I had thought he was in love with Maggie when this whole thing started."

"Really?" Nate stared at her in disbelief, "Why would you think that?'

"Well the way you kept trying to bring attention to yourself instead of her for one," Sophie pointed out towards the floor. She couldn't make eye contact for some reason. "You also were pretty avid that she was going to be your ally so I just assumed you were in love with her. You were very protective of her, Nate."

"She was my friend," Nate nodded at the thought. "Of course I was protective of her. I wanted her to win if I couldn't."

"Which was why," Sophie gulped and slid further away from him before she spoke again, "Which was why I was going to get in between the two of you to drive a wedge. I planned on getting you to like me instead so I could get rid of Maggie."

"But it didn't work," Nate grinned as he realized exactly what was happening. "You came to meet with us during dinner and discovered that your plan was a dud."

"You caught onto my game before I even had a chance," Sophie shrugged with relief in her brown eyes as she finally dared a glance in his direction. "I was so surprised that I knew you had to be my ally and I knew you weren't coming without Maggie so I stayed to ask her questions about her knowledge. I decided I wanted the two of you to be my allies when we were done."

"So how did the whole love thing happen?" Caesar pressed delicately.

"I don't know," Sophie stammered out guiltily. "One moment I was all set to kill him because I knew he would be my biggest opponent. The next minute I'm killing people because of Maggie… Then James tried to kill him!"

"Yes," Caesar interrupted to give Sophie a moment to breathe, "That must have been difficult for you."

"He was going to kill you, Nate," Sophie explained towards the champion from district twelve in desperation. "I had to do it!"

"Shh," Nate yanked the woman into his arms and held her close, "It's okay. You saved me."

"I didn't mean to fall in love with you," Sophie whimpered in agony of the whole situation.

"I didn't mean to love you either," Nate admitted casually. It felt like he was stating a clear fact the way things were going. "But I did. I didn't realize just how deep I was until you tried to sacrifice yourself for me. God, the moment I realized you were the one I stabbed instead of me…"

"I'm sorry," Sophie peeked out from his arms long enough to stare him straight in the eyes and plant a quick kiss on his lips. "I'm so sorry! I didn't want you to die! I wanted you to win because you would be alive! I only did it so you would live!"

"I know," Nate felt his eyes tear up as he witnessed the tears falling from the district one champion's eyes. "Why do you think I stabbed myself afterwards? I couldn't handle living in a world without you. Once I got a taste I was hooked."

"Me too," Sophie cried out with a sad smile as she crawled into the district twelve champion's lap and planted her head squarely in his neck. She curled into a tiny ball and refused to move. Nate just wrapped his arms protectively around her and cradled her close. He wasn't going to let anyone come near her. They were both perfectly content on staying this way forever.

"What are you going to do after the train ride?" Caesar questioned softly with tears in his own eyes at the way they were acting. "You both have to return home to your separate districts until the next hunger games come about."

"We'll have phones," Sophie popped her head out long enough to announce. She turned her head desperately towards her fellow champion with wide eyes of terror.

"I'll call you every day," Nate promised with a quick kiss on her nose. He hadn't been thinking about that either. They were both so wrapped up in the idea of losing one another to death that they hadn't even thought about the fact that they lived in separate districts. They might be allowed to live together after the victory tour was over, but that would be months of separation. Would they be able to last that long?

"Twice a day?" Sophie proposed with a tiny pout. It was the pout she had used to get her way in the games but this time it was different. Her eyes actually did the begging as well.

"Three times if I can manage it," Nate winked at the offer gladly. He didn't know what he was going to do when they had to get off the train to go home.

"Ooh," Caesar smiled at the interaction, "I could just eat you up."

The rest of the interview passed by in a blur. Sophie hid her head in Nate's neck when Maggie's death appeared on the annual recap. She missed the part where all of Panem oohed over the fact that she took the time to decorate Maggie's hair. The young woman from District One didn't come out of Nate's clutches again. Even when Caesar and Nate both tried to get her to talk about her feelings when she betrayed Nate to win the games all by herself. Then Haymitch appeared out of nowhere and the two of them were quickly pulled away towards the train station.

Haymitch was watching them with a scowl the whole time. Nate didn't care. He and Sophie spent their entire ride home holding hands and ignoring the fact that they would be gone soon.

"Look up my number as soon as you have your house," Sophie ordered once they were at the gate for District One.

"I will," Nate nodded at her request.

"Call me every day at six o'clock on the dot, Mr." Sophie ordered again. Fear and sadness were etched in her gorgeous eyes.

Nate pulled the girl into a deep, passionate kiss. He tried to put everything in that kiss. He felt Sophie doing the same. They were fighting for control and neither one seemed to mind. It was the only kiss they would share until the victory tour was over. They were going to make it last.

The pair broke apart with heavy breaths and needy moans.

"I'll call you," Nate promised against her lips.

Sophie just smiled at the answer. Tears were sparkling in her eyes and she looked downright fearful of the next step. She gently rubbed her thumb on his cheek.

"You better," she said. And then she was gone.

End of Merger One


End file.
